Forgotten
by Stormfoedt
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia comes home from a solo mission, all battered up and acting strangely. What did she lose on the mission, and whatever it is, does she want it back? Some cross language.. amongst other things. That would be why I rated it T. Be trapped in a world like no other, read a story that was left untold. It continues too, in case you found the ending lacking. Dark Dreams...
1. Her Return

***This is my first story, and I have NO idea where this is heading, like it usually is when I start writing on a whim like I did this time. In any case, I do not own Fairy Tail, any of its characters etc. etc. Sooo... I hope you guys like it!***

Rain. It made the whole world grey and glistening, making the stoned road slippery. I blamed the rain for making me fall again and again, something to blame made me get up each and every time. Even with the excruciating pain, even with my eyes pleading me to just shut them already. Stupid rain. Stupid... I almost cried out in frustration as my head hit the pavement yet again with a wet thud. It was SO hard getting up, so why did I have to fall? I stared yet again at the pink insignia on my hand. That insignia made me part of Fairy Tail. I tried smiling, yet the pain probably made it look like a horrible grimace. I couldn't give up yet. Come on, girl! This is your dream, remember? Slowly I got up on all fours, and with a moan up on my two legs. Fairy Tail wizards never give up. By making me a member, I couldn't give up on me just yet. So close, too. I'm almost home!

***WAKING UP***

I opened my eyes, staring at a white ceiling. Strange, usually the canopy of my bed would be what met me... Memories suddenly flowed through my head, and I smiled. That's right, this is MY place, not HIS. I sat up, winced at my pained muscles, and got out of bed, headed for the bathroom. Whoa, it looked as if a massacre had been going on here after the day before, when I had to clean all my wounds. If my hazy memories were anything to go by, it had sounded like one too. I sighed, and started working on my body again, washing it, changing my bandages and so on. I didn't dare to look into the mirror in fear for what would meet me after this mission. I probably looked horrible!

After cleaning myself, the bathroom and then the bed, I went to the closet in search for clothing. Jeez.. I sighed at my hardly covering pieces of clothing, wondering what to wear today. After some searching I settled for a pair of denim shorts, a t-shirt that actually went all the way down to the shorts, and my usual boots. Afterwards I got a long hooded cape and swiped it around my shoulders, efficiently hiding away the rest of my bruised and battered body, also I put up the hood to hide my face.

I heard a knock on my door. Strange... I got up, went down the stairs and suddenly stood face to face with a very short woman whom stared at me expectantly.

"You do realize what time of the month it is, don't you?" she said, and I shrugged, waiting for a continuation. I had no idea what this time of the month meant. I hardly knew what time of the month it was.

"Your, rent, young lady. 70.000 jewels or you will have to move out!" she exclaimed, and I put a hand in front of her, signalling her to wait while I went up the stairs, getting some money and putting it in an envelope. So I didn't own the place, huh... Oh well, I went downstairs again, where what I assumed to be the landlady stood tapping her foot impatiently. I handed her the envelope, and smiled. It hurt to smile.

"Here you go, lady. This should last for at least a couple of months," I scratched the back of my head making my hood fall off. The lady gasped.

"Oh, shush, I am all too aware of it already. It will heal, eventually," I sighed, and took the hood up again before locking the door and heading towards the guild.

"It always does..." I added silently as I got out of hearing range from the old woman. Jeez.. lighten up already, you're almost there! As the thought appeared, I almost squealed to myself. Fairy Tail, the most notorious guild out there, and I were one of them!

***FAIRY TAIL***

As the guild neared I couldn't help but smile in spite of the pain it caused me. Finally, I am home. Slowly I opened the door, and ducked as a chair almost hit me. Brawls were already on this morning, and I expected no less. They didn't seem to notice me, so I navigated myself through tables and people, dodged flying objects and smiled as I sat down at the bar and saw the infamous Mirajane cleaning some glasses while watching her friends fight.

"I'm home," I whispered while laying my head on the counter, taking in the smell of wood, booze and other substances.

"Mirajane, can I have a strawberry-milkshake please?" I asked, and the barmaid looked up, surprised by my presense, before smiling and nodding.

"Of course, dear, I'll be right back," she seemed like a mother when she smiled like that, and I couldn't help to let another smile graze my lips. A mother, huh... I lowered my head to the counter yet again.

"Here you go, dear. You alright?" I let out a sigh.

"The last mission was harder than I anticipated, I guess. I'm totally beat! Thankfully my rent will be alright for a while though," I exclaimed, lifted my head from the counter to put the straw in my mouth. The drink simply felt heavenly against my dry throat.

"Mission? I'm sorry, but who..." she stopped when the door slammed open and revealed a scorching hot sun, and four beings that brought with them one shitload of luggage on a huge carrier.

"We're home! Missed us?" one of them yelled. I suspected him for being the one that had kicked the door open, using so much force it almost got ripped off its hinges. He was bandaged all over, pink hair sprouted in all directions, and a huge grin was sticking out from a scaled scarf he wore around his neck. He could be no other than the ever so famous Salamander. His team-mates, I assumed them to be in any case, seemed less merry. The other male, a black haired boy that for some reason only wore his underpants, was almost equally damaged, and in his arms were a small figure with short, silvery hair. She was also slightly bandaged, still conscious, yet apparently unable to walk by herself. A scarlet haired woman, or girl, no woman, stood firm in her armour, bruised and serious, with the handle to the ridiculously large cart in her hand. It was indeed a mystery to why the Salamander were in such a merry mood.

Of course, the whole guild greeted them, the barmaid squealed, or shrieked, and ran over to them to check the small figure in the black-haired boys arms.

"Are you alright.." she didn't get to finish the sentence.

"I'm alright, sis, only a little tired. That monster was pretty tough, after all," the little one answered. I barely heard it, before turning my attention back to the milkshake. It felt like ages since I had enjoyed a good...

"What did you say, flame brain?" a battle commenced, and I turned around again, watching Mirajane helping her little sister across the hall, up some stairs towards the infirmary. The brawl was even worse now than earlier, so I took a guess and came to the conclusion that a new mission might be good for my health, rather than waiting for one of these guys to crash violently into me and reopen my wounds. If so, then god help me, I might actually need assistance. No one needed to see this. I felt too... ashamed over this weakness. Thus I got up and walked away from my unfinished milkshake and silently stepped over to the notice board, looking for something relatively difficult, yet doable, and perhaps time-consuming. Something that would help me heal after THAT. Nothing came jumping out at me, leaving me slightly frustrated. Oh well, might as well head home for some relaxation, even if nothing would await me at home other than nightmares. I fear darkness, and I fear solitude just as much.

"Ah, sorry dear, but you got to pay for that shake you know!" I heard from the bar area, barely audible through the screams and crashes from the brawling family. Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I turned around and headed for the silver-haired one, when what I had expected to happen sooner or later, well.. happened. I felt a warm body crash into me with such force that both of us hit the wall with a crashing sound.

"And keep quiet, you two!" a severely pissed off redhead shouted. The other body merely fell limply to the ground, while I stood leaning against the wall coughing. White and black spots danced in front of my eyes, and my bandaged hand got soaked in some blood.

"Shit," I muttered. There were better words for this kind of situation, but my mind only came up with that one at that moment. Shit indeed, I might need to fix this little issue before it got out of hand.

"Oh, sorry Sir, I deeply apologize..." I cut her off.

"No worries, Titania (who else could it be). I must apologize as well. It would seem that I have no money on my person at this moment. I promise that I will.." I stopped for a moment to lean even more heavily against the wall, catching my breath, before letting go and standing on my own.

"I will pay after a short trip home to fetch my money," I walked towards Mirajane, could see the fringe of her long, red dress, even if I did not dare to raise my head to face her. I raised my other hand, that was bandaged but not bloodied by my earlier coughing fit, and yanked a necklace that had adorned my neck. It was a golden locket with a single name engraved within, one that I claimed to be mine own. I placed it gently in the barmaids hand.

"Until I return, you may keep that in order to bind me to my promise," I said gently, before my knees hit solid ground, and I groaned ever so slightly. The rustling of metal told me of the her presence before Titania helped me to my feet, supporting me with that awesome strength I so envied.

"You seem to be quite hurt, Miss. I feel partly responsible after flinging that idiot in your direction, so I think it might be justified to let you stay at the guilds infirmary, even if it is mainly reserved for members," she said, and I chuckled silently, wincing from the pain it caused me.

"I do believe I know the way. Now let me keep my pride, I can walk by myself," I answered, wriggling out of Titanias supporting grasp, slowly ascending the stairs to the infirmary.

"Who are you?" the Scarlet-haired woman asked after me. Even though it hurt, and even though no one could see it under my hood, I allowed a small smile to graze my lips.

"I am Lucy, or have you forgotten already?" I said calmly, kept walking as the whole guild silenced. I know I have, I thought as I opened the door into the infirmary.

***My first story, and my first cliffhanger.. I know, it's a bit confusing and all, but things will be explained at some point. I hope...

Moving on, I do not know when this will be continued, hopefully soon, but do not get too hopeful, 'cause when my muse go into hiding, it is VERY hard to find. Hehe, hope you enjoyed it to some extent, please forgive my typos, and etc.

Pairings? No idea. I am aiming for NaLu, but this might change after a while, though I doubt that. Other pairings may be included, or maybe not. We'll just have to wait and see, don't we?***


	2. In The Infirmary

**Chapter 2**

*******_Okay, here comes chapter two. Fast, I know, but I better write in the presense of my muse or I might regret it later._

_In any case I did update my summary to make it less weird compared to the actual storyline that exist right now, but it might be a bit confusing still. I don't know, since it makes sense in my head. Considering that, all the normal people out there might not get anything at all._

_Anyways, enjoy the second chapter, hopefully it will be to your liking. I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline, and that might not be such a bad thing. Now, let the fun begin_*******

***THE INFIRMARY***

I entered the white room, a room similar to so many others that had the same properties. There were a lot of beds, all empty except from one, where the mage with the short silver hair sat waiting patiently. It was the one farthest from the door, understandable considering the volume this guild probably could produce if they set their mind to it, even through the mostly noise-isolated walls at the infirmary. I walked slowly towards the girl, mostly to avoid limping, but also to avoid scaring her.

"Yo." she said, staring at me, clearly showing that she knew I were there. No scream. No fidgeting. Honest blue eyes that seemed to know much more than anybody so young should know stared at me, and I could do nothing but stare at the floor. Her eyes were pure light, kind and warm. I felt a blush creeping up on me as the silence commenced.

"Do yo..? Do you know where the bandages are?" I asked, awkwardly. I could feel her smile. Jeez, this would be awkward unless someone else came in. Like Mirajane would be the typical Mother, this one was the typical little sister. Tough little things, sisters, and unpredictable. Just then the door opened, and in came Titania, dragging along what seemed to be the uncounscious black haired guy and the Salamander. I stared at the ground. If I thought the little sister would be awkward talking to, the Titania would probably be worse. She merely walked past me, dumped the boys in separate beds, and turned towards me.

"So..." she began, and the awkwardness grew. Come on. Spit it out.

"How have you been, Lucy? I heard from Mira that you went on a solo mission two weeks ago. It was a month long one, so I guess no one expected.." her voice trailed off. Two weeks... Two. Weeks..? It felt like years. I would've guessed over a month at the least.

"As I said earlier, Titania, no worries..." I muttered, loud enough for her to hear, as she was standing quite close. I stared at her feet. They were bruised.

"You don't need to be so formal you know. Just call me Erza, like you used to before.." she trailed off again. I had always heard that this woman was really stubborn, righteous, and never out of words. Now she seemed.. sad?

"Erza," I tasted the name. If it would please her, sure, why not?

"No worries. You should probably get some rest, you know. I might take some pills for the pain, or whatever, and head home. I just got back yesterday, so..." I smiled to make the words seem happier, even if it stung. Titania, or Erza, seemed to be sad over something. She took a step towards me, then hesitated.

"How did your mission go, by the way? Mine was a success, but you seem pretty worn out," I proceeded, while taking a step back. I tried finding a reason to leave while talking. I felt trapped.

"So it is you. Welcome home then, Lucy. I'm sure everyone would say the same if you weren't in that cape of yours, you know. I think Mira-nee was pretty worried when you left alone on such a long mission," the little sister said, and I chuckled again. Such a sweet girl.

"I guess I forgot in all the commotion. Welcome home to you guys too. I will lose the cape as well. In time. Its just that.."

"LUCY!" a voice called, loud and clear. It were the voice of the Salamander, the pink-haired mage that had been thrown violently into me earlier. He sat straight up in his bed with glazed eyes, looking around for what I assumed would be.. me? In any case, I used the sudden outburst to move towards the door.

"Rest well, Salamander, Tita-Erza, everybody. It would seem I have recovered enough to make my way home.." I said silently when the door suddenly flew open, and a little blue haired girl came in like the wind, causing my hood to fall back, making the Blunette to scream and stop in her tracks. She seemed terrified and I felt a new blush coming on as I firmly placed the hood back on.

"Lucy-san! Wha.. I got to heal.. who did..!" she sputtered, causing me to back up a few steps. Shit, again! Jeez, I shouldn't have left the freaking house. Now I had gone and scarred a little girl with these.. I sighed, and would've face-palmed had it not been for the pain involved in such an action. Instead I went for my last resort. Laughing it off.

"Ah, sorry 'bout that... I know, it seems severe and all, but really.." I stopped talking as I heard sobs. Was she crying? Suddenly I felt a firm hand on my shoulders, I got turned around unvoluntary, and my hood nearly got ripped off the cloak as the Titania gasped.

"Lucy..." she muttered, shock radiating from her very being. I hadn't seen the full extent myself, but I had felt it. I felt the four, deep gashes that covered half my face. The soreness told me that they probably were red, irritated and ugly. Showing such a face to the world would be.. cruel. I had no other word for it. Erza was known on the battlefield, showing such a face to me I knew that normal people wouldn't be able to handle it. They would have nightmares. Heck, even I would, probably. I felt my eyes widen, almost filling up with water before I got a hold of myself.

"Don't.. Don't look at me, alright. I know it's horrid, so.. just don't.." I mumbled, looking at the floor, not daring myself against the Titania any longer.

"What the hell?!" came a voice, and I saw a furious Salamander stalking towards me, even with all those wounds. He stared at my face, his eyes so filled with rage. Why? Why would this.. this being be furious at me. Had I angered him? Perhaps he did not wish to see this grotesque... thing called a face while recovering. He came straight for me, and I backed away until I hit the wall.

"What. Did you DO?!" he screamed at me, and I looked at him with fear. The Salamander, a mage that used magic that could not be bought in a shop. His face was so close, only inches away from my face.

"I went on a mission." I said as calm as I could. It seemed like this made him calm down, a bit, and I saw the little blunette staring at me. She seemed frightened, so I sighed. Calm the little one first, then confront the halfdead maniac. I shoved the boy firmly away from me, and went over to her, went down on my knees. I were suppused to merely bow down a little, but I guess this would have to do.

"No reason to cry, little one. I know it seems bad, but. Sometimes, things happens, and..." I smiled reassuringly at her, and she almost backed away. Oh yeah... I forgot about that, one of the gashes would partly reopen when I smiled. Quickly letting my smile falter, I sighed.

"Calm down, Salamander, the girl is scared enough as it is without you attempting to burn the place down," I said without turning around. I could almost hear the crackling sound of fire radiating from him, warming the room more efficiantly than any heater I knew of. I patted the girl on the head, then tried to get up. Nothing.

"If that's your face... Then how about the rest of your body?" the girl mouthed, and I stiffened as I stared at her.

"What excactly DID this to you?" she continued, and I blinked. Some girl. She hadn't puked yet. She seemed to be on the verge of bawling, but seemed otherwise determent. Then I noticed her insignia. A mage, at such a young age?

"I... Don't remember." I finally answered, avoiding the question about the condition of my body. The thing, whatever it was, had been pretty rough. Truth be told, I had no wish to remember either. The feelings left in the open space in my mind were bad enough without any visuals.

"Lucy," Erza said, soft and almost kind, before punching my gut so hard that I blacked out almost immediately.

*******_Yeah, well, that ended in a weird manner... Somehow, this chapter ended up somewhere completely unexpected, and due to WAY too much talking the time hardly went forward at all. It needed to be done though, and it MIGHT clear up in a few things. MIGHT... I'll let you be the judge of that._

_Hope you enjoyed it though, and a third chapter might be coming up soon, however not as soon as this one. I'm already starting to think out how the hell I'm supposed to continue from here on, but since my muse still lingers, I might start right away. Talking in stories is not my strongest point when it comes to writing, so please forgive me if I seemed to be forgetting people in the middle of discussions. Since this is written from the perspective of one person, it is rather hard to include everything that must be included, but oh well._

_Well, until next time, au revoir (I think that's how you write it, it is French, by the way)._*******


	3. Her Comrades

**Chapter 3**

*******_Ok, so I really wanted to write the whole thing from one persons perspective, but lets face it, that would make this become a whole damn book, and I am unsure wether this is something I want. And in any case, as you might've noticed in the last chapter, our dear heroine is knocked out cold, and as Fairy Tail fans, I'm pretty sure we all can imagine the deed being done._

_So here I am, yet again, writing third chapter ridiculously soon after the first one. Only a few hours in fact, though I probably will sleep before publishing this one. It is getting rather late after all (nah, just 1a.m., no big deal. Oh wait, 4 a.m., oops). By the way, I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline. Only the gods know where it would've ended up if I did..._

_Okay, NOTE: THIS IS ERZA SCARLET THINKING AND SPEAKING. ERZA SCARLET I TELL YOU! __**ERZA. SCARLET. **__Let the fun begin...__*******_

***THE INFIRMARY* **(still...)

I stared at the girl laying in the bed, the one I considered to be one of my closest friends. It had pained me to hit her like that, but her eyes had told me she was still running from whatever it was that had attacked her and molested her frail body to the brink of recognition. It was the eyes of wounded prey, the kind that only ran for the sake of running, already realizing that no hope could be found.

"How is she?" a male voice asked tiredly, and I turned to face Gray where he stood, yet again, only in his underpants while staring at the girl with a frown imbedded on his face. I quickly noted his clothing laying in a heap right beside him, but chose to ignore his lack of manners as long as he maintained that last piece. I turned my gaze back to Lucy, where she lay with a frown of her own, even in her sleep.

"Wendy managed to get the worst of it, but is hardly done. She went back to the dorms an hour ago to rest, and will be back in the morning to continue," I stated matter-of-factly. The poor girl had wanted to continue, but I had seen her fatigue, and insisted that she needed the rest. At least now, Lucy no longer was in danger of dying. Natsu lay in the bed next to the girl, snoring lightly. He had been quite injured at the last mission, and when he refused to calm down after I knocked out Lucy, I had no choice but to do the same to him. He was now heavily sedated while his injuries were healing.

It was late, and we all needed the rest, but I just couldn't.. I couldn't STAND seeing her like this. So. Vulnerable. She was the unbeatable Lucy Heartfilia, the one that always kept her smile on, the one that was scary as hell in the morning. The one that helped patch us all up after a tough mission. She was supposed to smile brightly at our return, and scold us for being reckless.

"Oi. Oi, Erza. Don't cry. Please. You know I can't stand crying... come on. It'll be alright. You said it yourself," Gray kept on rambling, but I just stared at her as tears kept falling from my eyes. I felt so utterly powerless, unable to protect this ONE...

"'s alright, Erza, c'mon, lets go downstairs and get you some cake, shall we? Maybe even some beer..." I let the ice-mage lead me towards the door as he kept making soothing noises and patting my back while watching ahead. That Gray, he really did have his moments. At the door I stopped however, gave him a simple glare.

"Your clothes," I stated gruffly, my voice a bit mushy still, but stern nonetheless. He had discarded everything now, and I heard low profanities as he hurried back to put his clothing on, before we headed downstairs.

***THE GUILDHALL***

"Erza, I wondered when you would be joining us. I even prepared a cake for you," Mirajane smiled, and placed no less than a whole cake in front of me, along with a cute silver-fork with E engraved on it. I smiled at the silver-haired barmaid before I started eating the cake, savouring the excellent taste. Mira really knew her stuff.

"Ah, Gray, I got you some iced beer as well, since I figured you'd need one. How's your injuries?" she continued to smile as she handed him a huge mug filled with beer and ice. She really is dependable, that old rival of mine. She is the mother most of us never had.

"So, Mira..." I said as I put down my fork on the now empty plate. She smiled and came over, waiting for the question she probably knew would come sooner or later.

"What kind of mission did she go on?" I asked carefully, and Miras smile faltered a little. We all knew I were talking about Lucy. As if on queue, the guildhall got hushed as we all awaited the fateful answer. I heard a small "Ahem" and we turned from Mira to Master, as he was sitting on the counter staring down the masses. Mirajane promptly moved up behind him, looking sad.

"It was an escorting mission. Nothing big, the request stated that a mage was wanted to escort a single female through a forest known for non-magical thugs. The pay was only so and so, but you all know Lucy. She was behind on rent, and the award would satisfy her demands plus a little extra for girl-stuff," Mira said, with a sad smile on her face. She was right, such a request did seem simple enough. Lucy was strong, she could take care of herself, and this sounded like something just up her alley.

"I got a bit worried because this mission was to last for a month, but since I never really went on missions in that area, I assumed that it just had to be one long trip. If everything went as planned, she would be back just a few days before your expected return as well," she continued, looking at me and Gray. Yup, thats sounds like our Lucy. I almost felt like crying again, but I remained silent as Master seemed to be getting ready to talk.

"Three days after her departure, I got a message from the client raising the reward considerably without stating why, which I found a bit odd as it still seemed to be a rather simple request. I were busy at the time, only passing it on to Mira whom also simply put it off 'till later," Master said it seriously, and seemed very regretful for this turn of events. He sighed, seemingly aging as the air went out of him.

"A few hours later all papers on said client disappeared. It is just as if she never even existed," He said, his head hung low. He must've kept this all to himself. I felt sorry for this burden Master had carried, even though I felt that he should've shared this knowledge with someone, so at least someone could've started looking. With a jolt I realized, Master had been waiting for us. He had trusted Lucy to get home, but in case anything went wrong, he knew that Team Natsu would come to the rescue. Only, Team Natsu was away, far away and out of reach. On a mission that had excluded the blonde mage in favor to Lisanna, who presently slept safe and sound at home, guarded by her brother, Elfman.

"It really is the biggest fucking forest I've ever been in," a voice said, and we all jumped at the sudden presence in our midst. He stood there, his black suit tattered and dirty, his sunglasses cracked. Old blood colored his usual orange-blonde hair black-brownish in some places. It looked like he had been in a warzone. He sighed, and tried to straighten up his tie, without it improving his attire much.

"Loke! What happened?! Where have you been?!" I raised my voice, looking at the Lion spirit flinch and shiver under my righteous glare. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder, and looked at Gray, that shook his head. This is not the time, his eyes said.

"Gray, your clothes," Mira said calmly, and he looked down, yelped, and went for his clothing, that mysteriously had appeared right next to Juvia that were hiding behind a pillar.

"Loke. As her spirit, you might fill us in on what happened on this mission," Master stated, and he turned to face him. The Zodiac Spirit sighed and removed his broken clases, put them away in one of the pockets og his suit.

"I don't know... This is the first time I've sensed her being in ages, thus making it possible for me to teleport here," he said, looking ashamed. This took me by surprise. Weeks. That meant that Lucy went on a mission without her strongest spirit. Why would she do that?

"She went without you?" I heard myself saying, my voice smaller than usual. What the hell. Lucy wasn't stupid. She wouldn't do that. Would she?

"Of course I went with her, I even summoned myself to keep her safe from that creep that went with that terrible woman," he said, his voice clearly saying that he did not appreciate anyone getting too chummy with HIS master. The silence was almost palpable, and very UN-Fairy Tail-ish.

"But you clearly said that you hadn't seen her in weeks, Loke. She only went out two weeks ago," Mira said, looking at him worriedly. This seemed to take the Lion spirit aback. He stared at her, shaking his head in sheer disbelief.

"That can't... No. You are wrong. I've been wandering in that forest for over a month! No way can that be... two WEEKS you say?!" he seemed so flustered, and everybody seemed scared. For a moment, I could clearly see the lion within him, hurt and confused. He had been looking non-stop, there were no doubts about it from the looks of it. His eyes were dark, as if from lack of sleep. His hands were shaking. Then he fell on his knees. All strength left him.

"I should've known... That.. That THING... There was nothing I could do. Not a single thing... I just. Stood there. Watching it attack. For the life of me, I couldn't even move. I thought she died..." he fell to all four, I saw the wet in his eyes. He seemed, broken. Everyone were shocked. What the hell happened? All of a sudden I pushed myself forward, lifted Leo the Spirit up by his shirt, stared at him without letting his gaze escape mine.

"She is alive. Breathing, fighting, right now! Get a grip, will you? There is nothing about the past you can change, and right now there is no fucking time for you to have a breakdown." everyone gasped at my profanity, but I chose to ignore it.

"You came here, did you not? If you wanted to give up you wouldn't have come, so SPIT IT OUT!" the last words were loud, firm, with no room for protest. He answered by putting his hands in one of his pockets, dragging out something shiny and dangling. I recognized the item at the same time as the rest of the guild present gasped. In his hands were the celestial keyring with all of Lucys keys.

"Don't give them to her yet. She already tried exterminating my contract with her. She is off, I don't know what... Protect.. her," he said, slightly restrained, and I let go of him, remembering that being slowly strangled while I lifted him off the ground might make it hard to talk. I noted that his shirt where disheveled, revealing a rather nasty gash going from his left shoulder to his right hip. How had he even managed to stay this long in the human world with such an injury? As if he heard my thoughts, he started glowing as he slowly became more and more transparent. He smiled tiredly, and was gone. Damn. Without him the last witness was gone. The only one that could tell what happened to Lucy now would be Lucy herself. I sighed. Turned around, slightly irritated, making people wince at my glare.

"Gray!" I shouted, as he stood there in his birthsuit. It was unintentional, but since he was the first to misbehave in my presense, he was the one that got my undivided attention and rage at the moment. He screamed like a girl and made a run for it, Juvia following right behind yelling and with his clothing in her arms.

"It's late, everyone, and in the light of the things that have happened today, I think it best to take it easy tonight. Now shoo! Home with you!" Master got up, headed for his office with a frown on his face. Yes, it was indeed strange. The time was off. A lot of things were off. What did Loke mean by this? What happened to you, Lucy?

*******_I almost posted this, when I realized that all of a sudden Natsu was out cold due to heavy seduction (now sedated). Way to go, me!_

_Finally the spirits enters the stage, and the plot is thickening. Ok, so this is a filler chapter, really, but I needed to show you guys some of the things that happened out of the presence of Lucy. Just to explain, and to make a little progress._

_Moving on, I thought I might make him suddenly appear and disappear like that, since this is something Loke is known for doing, after all. Natsu already did the "dramatic entrance through the door", as I previously planned for Loke to do, showing up all disheveled and panicked through the main door while yelling his masters name. This worked out well enough, I think, so I'll stick with my new plan._

_My plot is moving in weird directions again, getting all questioning and darkish. Not knowing makes everyone think that things are way worse than they are, really. I think. So how will the next chapter be like? I think I'll go back to Lucy then, depending on my mood. Oh well, we'll have to wait and see, I guess, all of us._

_I hope you found this chapter to your liking, that and all the chapters to come before my muse decides to make a run for it. 'till then, Vidimo se! (Croatian, I do believe) :D_*******


	4. Waking Up

**Chapter 4**

*******_Okay, so here we are again. Now I am focusing back on Lucy, as the story initially is hers. I tried hinting in the last chapter about how things aren't really what they seem anymore, and that this is about more than a mere surprise attack. I don't know if my impersonation of Erza Scarlet was any good, but I did try to capture her more aggressive side without making her too mean._

_You also might've noticed how I used Gray to lighten up the mood a little so it didn't go in such a dark direction. Yeah.. I think Natsu will be harder though. Haven't quite figured out how to make him realistic, if there is such a thing as reality. Whoa, a deep moment, way to go, me! :)_

_Ah, it would seem that several beings have noticed a reoccuring issue of mine. Yes, I know the theory behind where to place both "was" and "were". Yes, I am currently trying to improve my unconscious placing of said words, as they seem to pop up in places they do not belong. Most of my texts are written on the spot, thus I am sad to say that my proofreading isn't much to behold. Bear with me please, and thank you for notifying me of these issues. Hopefully this chapter will be better, but I will promise nothing._

_Oh, well, in any case. I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline. I am merely borrowing them, making the characters dance for all of us to enjoy like little cute marionettes. So here we go!_*******

***HOME?***

It's dark. The walls are cold rock, stealing away all the heat in my body even as I run as hard as I can towards the end. I don't fear the cold, as it feels good against my burns, but the darkness... Where is she? I am gasping for air, but keep my pace. Come on, where is she?! I see light, showing me a sharp turn up ahead. Flickering, yellow light. Only one thing can make that dance, the one thing I fear more than the darkness. I almost stop, but a moan make my legs move forward once again. No. No, no, no no, no. Anything but THAT! Anyone but HER. I hear my sobbing being reflected from the cave walls, making it sound like there are ten more of me. I don't care. I have to find her. She'll be alright. Come on!

As I run around the corner I see it, and my worst fear is proven to be reality. There, bound up against a pole, she is. The woman that is everything. She has long, black hair, pale skin, and the softest hands in the world. Right now, however, she is hanging far from the ground, surrounded by wood, looking pained as the flames slowly lick upon her being. Warm, living flames travel upwards and slowly consumes the wood from the largest bonfire I have ever seen.

"Mommy!" I yell, and the woman stares at me, wide-eyed and shocked as I make my way towards the flames that are killing her. There are other people here too, adult people, but I focus on the woman that looks at me, her eyes filled with wonder even through the pain from being burned alive. Someone moves in front of me, trying to block my way. I quickly note that the being is male, blonde, and has a mustache I don't like. In fact, I don't like him at all. It is his fault. Then I move past him, darting towards the fire. I fear it, knowing all too well what kind of pain it can cause, but still I reach out, jumping onto the burning wood, climbing while ignoring the blisters and the smell of burning flesh. I reach out for her, and for a moment the time seems to slow down.

"Little one, why are you crying?" the woman asks, completely calm.

"F.. Fire. You're burning, and s so am I," I cry, and feel the playfulness of the fire as it reaches out to touch me in slow motion.

"Yet you came to my rescue. You are very brave," she states. I am afraid, but I don't want to leave her. Her voice is nice and soothing, and even though she is bound to the pole, I can feel her soft hand on my head, tapping it lightly.

"Fear not, little one, the fire simply likes fooling around. It will not burn you if you do not allow it" she smiles. I keep sobbing, fearing it, remembering... things. I am only a child, but I know the pain of fire against skin, burning flesh... Then I feel her lips against my forehead, and I close my eyes at the comfort of her warmth, even though I fear it too. Heat is fire, and fire is pain.

Suddenly the moment is over, I hear the crackling of burning wood, and all of a sudden arms wrap themselves around me, dragging me away from the burning inferno. A scream penetrates the air, filled with agony as its embodiment is eaten by yellow, red and orange tongues. I am pressed against a female body, soft hands covering my ears. I still hear the scream, and I still hear the woman whisper.

"My dear Lucy. You were not meant to see this. It is over now, you are safe. Me and daddy looked all over for you. Hush, little Lucy. Lucky Lucy. We can all go home now. You are safe now, mommy is here" her blonde hair tickles my burned back, and I cry. I cry for the woman that now has fallen silent while being bathed in fire. I cry for seeing my real mother again. I cry in relief as my burns vanish from my body as I remember the last words she said to me, barely audible as time went back to normal and the crackling resumed, filling my ears to the brim. "Fire will hurt you nomore". But darkness will...

***AT THE INFIRMARY***

My eyes sprung open, and I saw only blackness. I had almost forgotten that incident, if it was real and not a nightmare, when I were taken by a witch that branded me with hot iron to show me she owned me, just like a farmer marking his cattle. I also remembered the man trying to block me, and knew he was my father, just as I knew the blonde to be my mother. I had been what, 4 at the time? 3 perhaps?

Darkness. I fear darkness. It can erase me much more efficiantly than any fire. And the silence? Wait a minute. I returned from my train of thoughts. Sure, the place was dark, but hardly silent, due to loud snoring nearby. Jeez, how had I even managed sleeping in the first place? Oh... that's right, I winced at the memory of Titanias fist ramming into my abdomen. Sure, I only felt it for like a second before blacking out, but damn! That woman could hit. I smiled at my now somewhat merrier thoughts, as i sat up, tried jumping nimbly out of the bed I currently resided in.

Well, for one, me being nimble in the first place would be a lie, thus already making such a task a lost cause. Secondly, I could see nothing, so I couldn't even see the ground until I hit it. Thirdly, as I were reminded of upon impact, I were hardly in any state to even stand properly, much less land decently on the invisible floor. Hence me laying sprawled on the floor aching all over. Someone had attempted to heal me though. My body was all wobbly and uncooperative, but it didn't feel like being constantly stabbed all over the place.

I got up, slowly, forcing my limbs to move in accordance to my orders. One leg, two legs. My eyes started adjusting, albeit slowly, and I saw a dark shadow shaped as a door against the less black white walls. Slowly I made my way over and fumbled to find the handle, gently pressing it down. What met me? A wall of absolute darkness. Fire will hurt you nomore. But darkness will. I stumbled back, suddenly terrified of the darkness emitting from the opening. No. Get away from me. Don't touch me. I fell, but kept backing away.

Pain. Fear. Darkness...

I winced as memories I did not want to face tried resurfacing. No. Before I knew it, I had moved next to the one thing separating me from a world of silent darkness. The snorer. In my panic I failed to see who this being was. The room seemed to grow darker, and I think... I think I could see a dark form appearing in the middle of the room.

*What do you fear, little one?* It talked, yet not. The silence made the words appear without any sounds, I just knew they were there. I stopped breathing, fearing an oncoming panic attack. I bumped into the wall, and my hand grazed something warm laying on the bed. I couldn't... the darkness took a step closer, and I stared at it. Felt the vicious smile. Felt my body remembering pain that couldn't be put into words.

"Luce..?" the voice dragged me out of my stupor, making me practically jump sideways, resulting in me getting all entagled in fabric. The darkness being was gone. Who the hell said that?! I heard a groan, and froze were I lay on the floor trapped in some kind of curtain. Perhaps the being wouldn't notice?

"What the hell, Erza, I'm going to kick her ass in the morn..." the male voice silenced, and I heard steps. They were moving in my direction. My face was currently facing the floor, so even if I could see in the dark, I would be unable to face my opponent. The male seemed tired, his movements rather sluggish. The steps stopped right in front of me, and I held my breath. All of a sudden the whole curtain got yanked up, spinning me around and leaving me sprawled, once again, on the floor.

"Jeez, Luce.. you're weird," the voice mumbled and made a sound that had to be one huge yawn. I stared at the looming figure, waiting. A small flame appeared on his hand. Yes, on it, not in it. The face of the Salamander appeared within the small circle of light as he unsteadily squatted down to get closer to me.

"'sup?" he asked groggily with a sheepish grin. He frowned a bit as he stared at my face, touching my face where scartissue undoubtedly still lingered from my injury. I didn't remember how I got it, and honestly, I didn't have any immediate wish to remember either. I didn't flinch at his touch, as he clearly was drugged, and since his eyes didn't look like the kind of eyes belonging to someone that wished to hurt me. Promptly he fell forward, landing on top of me looking a bit stunned, but otherwise calm, as he leaned heavily on his arms to avoid crushing me. His face was very close...

"Ah.. sorry Luce. You got hurt again," he said sheepishly. I just stared.

"Not your fault. I should've been prepared, or something," I mumbled. He didn't make any sense, but I played along, the boy would hardly remember this in the morrow anyways. Jeez, he was warm. He smiled, and then proceeded to collapse on top of me. Jeez.. warm.. heavy... I groaned and attempted to push the Salamander off of me, to no avail. The fact that my arms were pinned down at my sides didn't help much.

"Help... anyone? Get off me.. you're heavy. C'mon, anyone there?" my voice felt small, and was rewarded with silence. That is, until the Salamander started snoring again. And drooling all over my neck. Just great...

*******_I've been dying to write this after almost knocking him out with heavy seduction (now sedation) in the previous chapter, and I needed to have one of those NaLu moments, even if it was a rather innocent one. I know, he seemed a bit off, but I am blaming the drugs. Same old Natsu though, falling asleep in the weirdest places, and as usual worrying about his precious nakama._

_How to proceed from here though.. It kind of feels like the intro is done now, instead of after the first paragraph with the rain and all. Now I need to introduce her to the rest of the guild, and I need to make an awake Natsu. I guess my work just got a lot more difficult..._

_I did attempt to correct some of my was/were errors in this chapter, hopefully it succeded somewhat, though I doubt the text itself will be flawless. It did improve a bit though, I hope. In any case, I'll see you guys soon. I am already plotting my next chapter, but don't expect it to be done too soon. Apparently there is this assignment that needs to be done in a few days, a part of my exam, and SOME people can't seem to stop pestering me about it, it mainly being teachers and the likes of them. Sheesh, University can be a drag sometimes. Don't worry though, it's not a big deal, and as soon as it is dealt with, I will continue with my story :)_*******


	5. Revelations?

**Chapter 5**

*******_Yup, here I am, as expected, just doing my thing and hoping for a favored response. I have been wondering how to continue this one, when I decided to simply let someone walk in on the two of them. Then my main choices were Erza, Wendy and Lisanna. All three of them would of course react upon walking in on this scene, however innocent it might actually be, and thus giving some humour to the whole thing. I did consider rewriting this, but then I thought, what the heck, why not try letting this train of thoughts continue its course?_

_I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline. If I did, things would get WAY too random. Let the fun begin..._*******

***THE INFIRMARY***

I didn't expect to fall asleep with the guy snoring right into my ear and drooling all over my neck. True enough, it did take a long time, but eventually I found myself dozing off. Heat did have that affect on me, and this guy was really hot. No human being should be able to radiate such amounts of heat without being seriously ill. Yet his face was serene, at peace, and not at all flushed with fever. I couldn't help but smile despite myself and the hopeless situation I were in. At least the floor was cold enough to prevent me from getting a heatstroke.

Thus, I were thoroughly startled when I finally heard footsteps and opened my eyes to daylight coming in through the windows of the infirmary.

"..tsu, you awake ye.. KYAAA," I turned my head trying to get a look at the person, and saw the silver-haired little sister figure standing a few meters away from us.

"Please. Help. Can't. Move" I stated, and she just stared. Her blue eyes seemed to widen up a bit, and I wondered if she even heard my silent plea. Oh well... I took a deep breath, with slight difficulty due to the body pinning me to the ground.

"OI! Girl. Help me remove the Salamander, will ya?" I said, louder, and she flinched. Good, she heard me this time. I tried moving again, but still to no avail. This guy was simply too heavy. To my surprise, the girl put her hands to her hips, glared at me with reprimading eyes. What now?

"I do have a name, you know," she said. Yeah, well, I figured as much.

"How great for you. Just get him off of me," I growled, slightly annoyed. Jeez, was it just me or or did the temperature rise yet again? She just stood there. Staring. Not even attempting to come closer.

"For fucks sake, what is your problem?!" I exclaimed, and were rewarded with a groan from the human heater on top of me. So he was waking up, was he? I turned my face towards him, and dark eyes stared at me in confusion. His face was so close that our noses almost touched.

"What are you doing on the floor, Luce?" he asked. What indeed. And why the nickname? I allowed it last night due to his slightly slurred speech, but now he seemed to be awake and fully capable of speaking without a speech impediment.

"You. Get off. Now." I said, sternly, and he got off, fast. Finally, free at last, even though the sudden chill against my skin felt unfamiliar after being warmed by Mr. oven-guy over there for so long.

"Have you always been such a heavy sleeper, or was it the drugs?" I asked in annoyance, and he just stared at me. A lot of people seemed to be doing that in this guild. I sighed, and used my arms to get up in a sitting position, looking at my current clothing. First now I noticed that I no longer wore those skimpy things, but rather som kind of dress accompanied by some loose trousers. White, of course. I briefly wondered who changed me, and hoped that the little blunette hadn't seen the extent off my injuries, since I hated it when people cried for my sake.

"What happened to you, Luce? Why didn't you wait for me before heading out on a mission?" I turned towards the questioning boy, that now sat with his legs crossed and giving me the puppy-eyes. Moody guy, huh? Just yesterday he had looked like he wanted to kill me, and now...

"I guess I were short on rent. What is that to you, anyways?" why would have to tell this guy I went on a mission? Clearly he had formed a team, and they had obviously been out when I left. What did my mission have to do with him? Was he some kind of approving-guy-person in the guild? He looked hurt by my statement.

"Aww, come on. We're partners. We always go on missions together," he said while pouting like a kid. *You will always be alone*. I stiffened as the words entered my body, a small memory of my past. It had the aura of the shadowy being I thought I saw last night. I might be going mad.

"I don't have a partner, Salamander," I countered, and got up on my feet without looking at him. I saw him stiffen at the edge of my vision, and knew I were right. I moved towards the door, when the girl moved in front of me.

"Move aside, girl," I practically growled at her. Her eyes were hard.

"I said. I do have a name," she answered. That's Fairy Tail for ya, stubborn as hell, the whole lot of them. Two could play that game, though.

"And so do I, girly. Why would I care about yours?" I said, looking fierce. I hoped. Silence.

"NATSUUUUU!" a shrilling voice rang, and suddenly a blue blur of fur shot through the door, past me, and by the sound of it, crashed into the Salamander. What the hell? I turned around in shock, momentarily forgetting my goal of not looking at the guy, and my eyes widened. There, in his hands, were a blue. Winged. Cat! Oh my gosh, I had never seen such a cute little thing. I blinked. Get out. Move your damn legs! I turned around, started stalking towards the door, when all of a sudden a warm hand grabbed my wrist. I turned around, and dark eyes penetrated my very being. He did not look pleased.

"Why are you leaving without even saying hello to Happy?" he said accusingly, with emphasis on leaving, as if I were never going to return.

"Happy?" I said questionably, cocked my head to the side.

"Sorry, but I don't get you at all. Now let go of me, Salamander," I tried ripping my arm away, but I had to give the guy some credit, he was strong. I on the other hand were not, so I basically flung myself toward him, and would have gone head first to the ground if he didn't catch me and hold me towards his, I noticed now, almost bare chest. He strengthened his grip, held me in a tight hug.

"Don't leave me now. I know you're mad, I dunno why, but. Sorry," he muttered. Mad? Leaving him?

"Jeez, Salamander. Get a grip. Who said anything 'bout leaving? I'm hungry, is all. I get grumpy without food," I answered, a bit muffled as I felt bandages pressing against my skin. Were all mages this emotional? And the grumpy part, only half a truth. I normally could keep the grumpiness at bay, but the boy was like a kid about to lose his mum or something. Mother. I were confused by this.. closeness he showed me. Even though I did get over my phobia towards fire as I grew up, the dream being real or not regarding the origin of this fear, I still felt.. scared. If I got too close, I would get burned, and l knew how painful fire could be. Silence.

"Let me go," I growled.

"No," the Salamander answered stubbornly. Okay, so I had tried patience. Fine, if this was the road he chose to wander, I would show him the consequenses. I took a deep breath, as if to calm myself, and raised my hands to his chest. Then, without warning, I pushed him as hard as I could away from me, raised my hand and pointed at him accusingly.

"YOU! I AM NOT IN THE MOOD FOR THIS RIGHT NOW, SO STOP ACTING LIKE A KID AND GET YOUR FUCKING ACT TOGETHER. I AM GOING DOWNSTAIRS TO GET SOME BREAKFAST!" I inhaled, closed my fist, and stalked out of the room. Damn clingy guy with too little clothing being overly attached and really pissing me off right now... I grumbled profanities to myself while walking downstairs being met by a staring guild. Oh yeah, they heard. I also heard a shrilling voice from upstairs calling me scary. Damn right I am.

***THE GUILDHALL***

"Lucy! I'm glad you're up and kicking again! Let me get you some breakfast right away," the silver-haired barmaid said while smiling at me with that motherly smile of hers. Then she stalked away in what I would assume to be in the direction of the kitchen. Ah, food. It might be the inital shock after the attack, but I honestly didn't remember last time I ate.

"Lu-chaaaan!" then I got jumped by a little thing with blue hair and a tearstreaked face. Another blunette, who would've known blue hair was such a regularity. We both stumbled to the ground, and I lay for the second time on my back, on the floor, with a body on top of me, though this one was smaller and awake, that and considerably cooler.

"You look horrible, y'know.. Erza said it was much worse yesterday. She was SOO angry, she nearly killed Natsu for screaming and Gray for stripping, and Elfman couldn't stop crying while speaking about manlyness I don't even know what that means and Lisanna came downstairs looking shocked and Wendy cried so hard we all heard her and I had to help her walk back to the dorms 'cause she was so tired after healing you and even Gajeel seemed worried y'know! Ah, sorry, rambling a bit there. I'm glad you're alright, Lu-chan. and never ever scare us like that again." at last she wiped away her tears and smiled, got off me and reached a helping hand, helping me up. My brain suffered from information overload. The girl had just given me a lot of names I did not know, speaking of murder as if it was normal and put stripping into it without flinching. If nothing else, I did know of Erza. Unless stripping was normal in this guild, and it just might be, I would also assume that the blackhaired guy on her team would be Gray.

"Lucy!" a voice boomed, and I raised my gaze to the railing on the second floor, spotting a very small man staring at me, balancing on the railing since he obviously couldn't stand on the ground looking over it. His eyes clearly told me his purpose. He wished to have a word with me. I sent an apologizing look towards the blunette, and proceeded up the stairs, into an office. What would this old man wish to with me, I wondered. I closed the door, and turned to face him.

***MAKAROVS OFFICE***

The room was square-ish, and in the middle there was a desk filled with papers. A LOT of papers. In the middle though, a small area was cleared, on wich the old man was now standing and... bawling his eyes out?

"I.. I'm so soooorryyyy, my child, *sniff*. To make them molest your curved body like tha.." SMACK. Child? I might be confused, but.. I'm pretty sure this wasn't Father.

"You will never learn, will you, Makarov. You are an old man now... This is why I hate pesky humans..." Oh yeah. The smacker. A tall woman with pink hair stood beside the desk, staring at me with a mix of annoyance and apologize in her eyes.

"Girl. I am an old friend of this perverted old geezer..." she sent a sharp glare in direction of the little man.

"... and I am here to heal you. Wendy gave me the summary of your injuries, and frankly I am surprised you survived this long. Now," she stopped talking for a little bit, her eyes softening for a short second before hardening in the same annoyed glare.

"Porlyusca..." the man said.

"Shut it, Makarov. Girl. These wounds of yours are not normal. In order for me to do my best, I need to know what happened to you," she said. I stared at her. Yup, I gave them the same confused glare the other Fairy Tail mages so often sent me.

"I don't remember," I finally answered. The woman crossed her arms.

"That is hardly the truth now, is it?" she said, some of the spite leaving her voice. Silence.

*Badump*. I felt the beat of my heart against my ribs. What did she just say? *Badump*. I remembered nothing. *Badump*. I didn't lie. *Badump*. Darkness seeping through the trees, all blurry and dark. *Badump*. Me walking by someone, I couldn't see her face. Oh yeah, I were supposed to accompany her through this... forest? *Badump*. She turned towards me, smiling...

I screamed.

*******_MWAHAHAHA... I sense a major cliffhanger. Oh, and there it is. Rather random, I know, but it did its job and led back on a track I can follow, even though I'm pretty sure it is a different one than the one I wished to follow. Hey, at least Happy was included in this one, after being left out in the previous chapters. He apparently stayed home after eating some bad fish when the rest of Team Natsu went on that mission, and recently found out that his "father" had returned. Just so you know, since I don't think I'll ever get to write it in the actual story. I also got to introduce a few of the other guildmembers, hope you liked their personalities. Oh, and *badump* is supposed to be the heart beating, just so you know :)_

_Thank you for reading, and I promise you that the following chapter will be out soon. Probably... 'till then, sjåast snart! (that would be Norwegian)_*******


	6. Lingering Darkness

*******_Yes, here I am again. Sorry about leaving you hanging like that, but really, I found no better place to cut it off. The chapter became too long, I had originally intended to keep the chapters at approximately 2000 words. I can see now that such a goal quickly is biting the dust, but anyways. To make it up to you, I will try making this chapter epic, and I will try making the long dreaded "flashback". Can't promise it becoming as awesome as you might want it to be though, I'll just let you be the judge of that._

_Anyways, I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline. Let us begin..._*******

I remember. She is not... she can't be... I put my hands to my head, eyes wide as I fell upon my knees. The scream that had escaped my lips had been so full of absolute terror I almost terrified myself even more.

"Please... stop it. Make it stop. Make it go away," I pleaded, bowing my head towards the floor as a new scream pushed itself up my throat, almost suffocating me before it sprang out for the world to hear. I smelt the smoke, tinged by the stench of burning flesh. As I heard a boom the next scream came, this time made out of pure agony as I felt my skin sear away. I remember...

***FLASHBACK***

Geez, I'm out of money for rent AGAIN. Just my luck, huh, and it would seem that my team, the strongest team in Fairy Tail, was still out on that mission. The one I personally picked for them, that is, before practically pushing them out the door with Lisanna, the girl that supposedly died two years ago. I put my head against the counter at the bar, sighing at the irony.

*Wait.. who is Lisanna? I have a team..?*

Mirajane came over with that smile of hers.

"You seem to be pretty down, Lucy. Missing someone?" she asked while smiling knowingly. Mirajane, the boss when it comes to matchmaking.

"What? I don't..." I stopped myself before I got to the denying part, since that only would make it worse.

"I'm out of money, is all, and.. well. I'm not too strong, and I kind of need a lot of money fast or I'm going to get evicted," I sighed. The landlady was REALLY scary too. I shivered by the mere thought of having to ask for yet another postponal.

*Rent.. oh yeah, that woman. And I'm... weak*

"Ah, it's that time of the month is it? You know what, I think I have the perfect job for you!" she handed me a request she had dragged out from god knows where, and I eyed it. 100.000 jewels, huh, for escorting a lady through a forest known for non-magical thugs. It would take... one month. Damn, I really needed the money now.. but. If I did this mission I would get back when my team was supposed to return. With their help I would be able to get the extra money in no time, even with their combined destructive powers.

"I mean, you could bring Juvia or something, she has been really down too, for whatever reason," Mirajane said it as if she really had a good idea why, and I sighed. In kinda was obvious.

*Juvia..?*

"No, I think this'll be just perfect for me, Mira! I'll go pack right away, thank you SO much," I gave her a big hug and left before she could protest. I know, Mira. You worry. Sometimes it just... hurt. Silly, huh, feeling hurt when people finally care, but...

*I am not.. alone? Silly me. Getting all close to people again*

I didn't let the thought finish, busied myself with packing, and were out the door before I had the time to rethink things. Talking to the landlady went smoother than expected, and before I knew it I sat on the train, staring at the moving landscape. I smiled. I'll surprise everyone and make them see my strength!

I hit the tree with a ugly sounding crack, and fell in a heap on the forest floor. Of course I got up, for the umpteenth time, smiling at my enemy.

*Strange. I can't remember the face, or the form of him, though I know he is male*

"That all you got, jerk? You're not even worth taking seriously!" I said haughtily. Yeah, well, it would seem that the famous Fairy Tail attitude was finally rubbing off on me, and seriously, this guy wasn't even close to some of my resent exploits, even though my team had been there then. Several beings were laying around after facing me and my xxx. I were almost out of magic power though, and this guy seemed unfazed by my attacks.

*Me and my what?*

"My, my, aren't you a feisty one? I do prefer some spirit in my prey, and you are indeed becoming my favorite so far. Lets play a game, shall we? If you agree to it, I promise you that woman will be left unharmed. I'll even escort her to her destination when you die. You see, I have this pet, and he could simply KILL for a game of tag," he smirked. He was a man to his words. He had already proven as much, and the woman. I HAD to protect her.

*They can't all die on me, can they? They can't all.. leave me, can they?*

"Do you know the pain I went through to save you, little one? Do you know the effort I went through just to make you LIVE?! And for WHAT, for you to become WEAK (I winced), PATHETIC (please stop), and BLOODY DEPENDANT ON OTHERS (please...)!?" the female sneered at me, where I lay, slowly bleeding to death. She chuckled in a sarcastic tone.

"You know what? I'm glad I never named you, thus claiming you as my own. I will make you feel like I did back then. I will make you burn, and I will make you smell the smell of your own, searing flesh. It is the worst way of dying, you know that? And I will make it last. You will feel my pain, hm.. how do you Fairy Tail brats say it? Yes, a hundred times over," she smiled, before I felt her grip on my mind, and screaming commenced.

***FLASHBACK END***

"Natsu! Come here!" I heard the female voice through a wall of pain. Tita..nia..? I heard screaming too. In the distance. Where.. am I..? What.. no. Don't come... near me. You will.. burn. Flames licked upon my being. I heard screaming again. Not just one person, but one were louder than the rest. Filled with agony. Poor.. thing. *What do you fear, little one?*. the shadowy voice said in the back of my head, strangely close now considering I were hiding there at the moment. Away from the pain, waiting for it to just... end.

A month. I woke up after burning to death the gods knows how many times, damaging my psyche to such an extent that my world became one of waiting for it to restart, when the pain was at its lowest. The people were gone by then, only leaving my reward behind, buried with me six foot under. Literally. I were left to die. No memories, only pain, and the wish for that memory to disappear as well. So it did. I noticed my insignia, and a magazine called "The Weekly Sorcerer" told me what it meant. I were a mage at Fairy Tail, along with someone called Mirajane, Titania and Salamander. The latter was merely described, while the two others had pictures to come with the names. A guild, huh. Sounded like fun. Not like I had anywhere else to go, right?

Roof. Panting. Still breathing, was I? A weight then nearly crushed me, and I only spotted pink hair, and.. sobs?

"Don't EVER. DO THAT AGAIN." a voice said, rusty with what I would assume was fear. I were alive? How? This fire had been the real deal, after all, rather than the illusion attacking my senses from earlier.

"Where.. am I?" it was merely a whisper, my voice could no longer produce sound properly. Probably the screaming. Most definitely the screaming. Faces started popping up above me, with their respective bodies, of course. I laid on my back. So many tear-streaked faces, some I knew and some I didn't. Fairy Tail, I assumed.

"Oi, let the girl breathe, Natsu," the male stripper said. At least I thought so, his lips was moving after all. The boy crushing me in a hug sat up, looking worried and.. well, angry. Salamander, such a fickle boy.

"I thought I burned to death," I stated, my voice holding curiosity and wonder rather than fear. Some faces were pushed to the side, and the lady from earlier came into my vision.

"And indeed you would have, if Natsu-boy hadn't eaten the flames emanating from your body. It is as I feared after listening to the signs Wendy described and then the strange taint you had around your being. You were cursed, girl. Luckily, it was only meant to kill you once," the woman - Porlyusca was it not? - said with that stern voice of hers. Not only once, only once in reality.

"I see..." I answered. What else could I say? Salamander. Natsu? So that was his real name...

"Natsu..." I tasted the name. It felt right. He stared at me, eyes wide. I tried smiling.

"You smell like a campfire," I mumbled, and he seemed confused, while others smiled at my seemingly meaningless statement. Just wait a second. I had a point to this.

"Why does it smell like home? I'm sorry but... it would seem like I suffer from some kind of amnesia," this made people react. They seemed shocked, while Mirajane seemed to be smiling widely.

"Thought as much," Porlyusca said, mostly to herself I think, followed up by something about horrid human smells before she took her leave. A strange woman, but nice, in her own peculiar way.

"We're partners, Luce. We go on missions all the time together, and I often come over to your place to train," the pink-haired boy said, and smiled a huge grin. So that's why, huh.

"Aye sir!" the blue cat said, and came flying, nuzzled against my chest. I lifted a tired hand, patted his head.

"And I'm Erza Scarlet, we're on a team together with you, Natsu, Happy and Gray," Erza said, and at that, Gray appeared. Smiling.

"We all make up the strongest team in all of Fairy Tail, Team Natsu," he explained.

All of a sudden everyone wanted to introduce themselves, and I got introduced properly to Juvia, Lisanna, Levy, Gajeel, Reedus, Fried, Bickslow, Wendy, Happy, Jet, Droy, Carla, Lily and many more. As i got reaquainted with the guild-members , we slowly moved down to the main hall, and Mirajane served me a large strawberry milkshake and a bowl of ice to cool down, as she said. Natsu sat by me the whole time, looking weary, studying my every action as if I'd instantaneously combust at any given moment, no pun intended. I let him be, but after everybody eventually started going off to do stuff, it did start ticking me off. Just a little.

"Natsu.." I said. It still felt a bit odd addressing him by his name even though it felt strangely fitting.

"I'm alright, y'know. No need to stare like that. It's kind of creeping me out here," I said, and he blinked. Thank the gods he had been staring without blinking for five minutes straight.

"Ah, sorry. It's just.. I thought you were mad at me or something, 'cause I spent so much time with Lisanna reasently," he said, and his eyes averted a bit. If it wasn't for his childish pout I would've been pleased by the lack of his eyes boring into me constantly.

"Jeez, where did you get that idea from? I don't remember much, but I do distinctly remember being the one pushing you guys out that door a month ago," yup, I remember about one month of my apparently seventeen year long life. Yay me.

"But Mirajane seemed so certain.." he argued, and I sighed. Of course it was her.

"Mira says many things. Don't worry, I'm not mad, just *YAWN*, tired.." I got up, a bit unsteady, and headed for the door. I was wearing some clothing Mira had found in the back, a white dress similar to her red one, reaching down below my knees. I wore no shoes, but frankly, I preferred it that way. The feeling of stone beneath my feet was soothing, somehow.

"Where are you going?" Natsu asked, hurried to my side.

"Home, where else?" I answered, like DUH.

"Then let us accompany you," Tita.. err, Erza suggested, though the tone told me I had no choice. I sighed, but let them. They blamed themselves, it would seem, even though it hardly could be their fault. Like come on, I should be able to claim responsibility for my own actions.

***MY APARTMENT***

I stared at my own reflection. So this is what I look like, huh? A pale blonde with big, brown eyes. Four pale lines adorned the side of my face. According to Wendy, the little healing mage, all except one were likely to fade. The one closest to my ear had been the deepest, the claw had scraped against bone, so it would remain a reminder of my misadventures in that forest. It had been the first, and probably the last longer mission I had taken on solo. Just my luck.

I had just finished showering, hence me standing naked in front of my bathroom mirror staring at my own reflection. Earlier I had relieved my team of their selfproclaimed mission of guarding me through the night, of course after they had helped themselves to some tea. Being nice didn't work at all, so I ended up practically shoving them out, resulting with the lot of them, being Erza, Gray, Natsu and Happy jumping out the window above my bed, on the second floor. I chuckled at the memory before focusing back on my reflection.

Jeez, I really had done something stupid. All the wounds had closed, courtesy to the little blunette, but some of them still bore a bright, red colour. They would heal naturally with time, Wendy had already done too much to help me. None of it was THEIR fault, of course. If anyone was to be blamed, it would be me for being so reckless. I hadn't told them everything that happened either. I purposely left out the part about the fire, and the burial. They would only blame themeselves more if I told them. My fault. Not theirs.

Slowly I got dressed in a pink nightclothes consisting of a buttoned top and a loosely fitted pair of trousers. Then I opened the door, and stopped. In the time I had showered the sun had set, and all the lights were off. Oh, I almost forgot to brush my hair! Yeah, if I forgot that it would surely end in disaster when I woke up in the morning. I smiled, and closed the door, locked it, headed back to the mirror in the well lit bathroom and found my brush.

The eyes staring back at me from the depths of the mirror told me the story I didn't want to admit. I, a mage belonging to the oh so famous guild Fairy Tail, known for their courage and camaraderie, were afraid of the dark. The memory of being in the small, pitch dark space under the ground popped out, briefly, making me fall to my knees as my legs became weak with fear. No way would I willingly let the darkness envelope me. Not again.

*******_I think I'll call it quits for now, for once ending a chapter without a terrible cliffhanger. This story of mine is escalating into some kind of novel, and is getting more confusing by the minute. At least I managed to give you guys a quick layout of what happened to Lucy on the mission this story originally was about. Still a bit hazy, but you know, somewhat explanatory. Oh, and by calling it quits, I do not mean as in this being the last chapter. I just need to find some kind of continuation. My muse is trying to get out of my firm grip and I am currently trying to convince it into staying._

_In any case, you'll hear from me eventually. Thank you so much for reading and I really hope you liked it! :) Oh, and by the way, pun most definitely intended_*******


	7. Nightmares and Warmth

*******_Just you know, to make the muse stay a bit longer by elaborating rather than creating new bits of happenings. I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline._

_Oh yeah, this chapter is dedicated to Jazbez, the person that initially gave me the idea of Lucys facial scar, plus some other ideas, some to come soon, I hope... I'll give this chapter out early, just 'cause I can :) I hope you'll enjoy it!_*******

***DREAMING***

Where am I? My body hurts. Its hard to breathe, and its so DARK. Slowly, experimentally, I tried moving, but were met by walls and pain. I panicked as I realized I were trapped in a small box, slowly running out of oxygen.

"Hello? Anyone there? Let me out!" I started hyperventilating. No air. So hard to breathe... I started clawing at the surface, ignoring the pain surging through my body, or the bloody fingers from the desperate clawing. My breathing did nothing anymore, merely drawing in used air. My body convulsed, I heard myself screaming, sounding weird in this little space. The clawing continued, more desperately. Let me out.. I beared me teeth, growled as I felt the wooden panel above me weakening. Then the woodpanel gave in, and I got buried in a mountain of dirt. No air. Nothing. I could't even scream. My mouth was filled with dirt, my nose was filled with dirt, my eyes were filled with dirt.

An arm hit air, and desperatly grabbed for something, anything, that would help me haul my body up to the freedom up there. My head surfaced, and gasped for air. Nothing had ever felt better. Wait. Where am I? What am I doing here? Who am I?

"I knew I taught you well, little one," a voice called out, and I growled again, stood on all four, looking for the owner of the voice. Enemy. All.. enemy.. A shadowy woman suddenly appeared before me, smiling sweetly with shadowy features, wearing some kind of smoky, black cloak. Then she slammed me into the nearest tree. I still got up, growled louder. She merely laughed.

"Here, I only stayed to give you these," she tossed me a cape, black and long, and a bag with... I smelled money. She squatted down in front of me, patted my head like I were some kind of animal.

"I am a woman of my word, after all, and you did manage to escort me, just as the mission instructed you," she swiftly avoided my hand trying to strike her, merely smiling at me before suddenly pinning me to the tree, holding me above the ground with her firm grip around my throat, making it hard to breathe again. Then, slowly, she attached a necklace around my neck, before letting me fall to the ground, gasping for air.

"Go home to that guild of yours, Lucy," she then disappeared, and I stared at the things layin on the ground, my senses recovering slowly. Mission. Guild. Lu..cy. I remember fire. Pain. Darkness. I sat down, wide-eyed, stared at my hands, one of them wearing a weird symbol, and my badly injured body. My naked body. Something told me, deep down, that walking naked would do me no good. I donned the cape, and opened the bag. Money. A lot of money. And a... magazine? "The Weekly Sorcerer". I looked at it, feeling something. Curiosity, perhaps? Slowly I opened the magazine, looking at the pages. There was the same weird symbol, on the armor of a redheaded woman. Fairy Tail mage. Magnolia. I belonged to a guild called Fairy Tail in a town called Magnolia. Yes... I would go there. Perhaps would I get more clues as to who I were there. I got up, took the bag, and started walking. I don't know how, but I felt myself knowing the way, a pull towards this.. guild.

***BATHROOM***

My eyes fluttered open, and I found myself laying on the bathroom floor. When did I fall asleep? I remembered brushing my hair, washing my face, brushing my teeth... Oh yeah, then I chose to lay down a bit, just to think things through. Blatant lie, I wanted to wait for the sunlight to reappear, but I never planned to actially fall asleep. Weird, the cold, hard floor felt rather homey. It was cold, though. I shivered, and sat up.

"Shit.." I heard the muttering on the other side of the door, and stiffened. Someone was there. In the darkness. What did they want? Had they found me? Would they take me back to the darkness? Would they burn me again? Who were they!?

"Lucy? Are you..(I heard him swearing as he stumbled over something) here?" I visibly relaxed as I realized who it was.

"Natsu..?" I said it questionably, even though there was no doubt about it. Now what did he do here at this time of the night? The shadows trying to enter the bathroom from underneath the door clearly showed me that it still was nighttime. I got up, went over to the door, hesitantly unlocked it, opened the door to meet a flushed Natsu standing in front of me.

"What are you doing here at this hour?" I asked him, and he averted his eyes, thoughtfully scratched the back of his head.

"Dunno, really. Just felt like checking on you," He said, and then turned to me, suddenly serious.

"Why aren't you in bed yet?" he almost accused me, and I had to smile.

"Ah, sorry. I kind of fell asleep in the bathroom. Wait.. why would I have to excuse myself..? Oh well, you want some tea or something while you're here? I don't got any food, but..." I trailed off as I passed him, turned on the light, thus illuminating the bedroom. Safe.

"Luce..." I heard from behind, almost pleading as I headed towards the kitchen to make that safe as well.

"Hm?" I said absentmindedly as I pressed the switch.

"Why is your hand shaking?" he asked, and I looked at it. It was true. A slight tremble, barely noticable, but there.

"Guess I'm colder than I thought," I reasoned, tried to make it stop.

"Don't lie,"

"I..." he saw through the lie before I did. Jerk.

"You scared me. I thought... I thought you were someone else," I eventually admitted, as much to myself as to him. I barely managed to face him, looking at those eyes stricken with guilt all of a sudden. So I smiled, patted his head, all the way up there.

"But who am I kidding, right? You are possibly the noisiest burglar there is, and besides, who would anyone want to break in here anyways, it's not like there is anything valuable to steal," I laughed lightly, and went to make some tea. Personally I found myself very calm when considering that my male friend just had broken into my home. It felt.. well, familiar. I liked the feeling, even through all the confusion that followed being stripped of nearly everything that had made me, me. Then there was that dream. The woman with the soft hands. Was she real? I was very confused by this motherly vibe I got from her. And then there was the hair, constantly switching between blonde and black.

"There is you..." it was a whisper, almost unintelligible.

"Hm? Did you say anything?" I asked while filling the kettle with water.

"Ah, nothing. No need to make any tea. I'll be off," I turned to see his awkward smile on, before he proceeded to jump out the window, disappearing into the night. I didn't want him to leave. Please, stay, just for a while. I wanted to beg him, but... alas, my pride kept me from doing any such things.

"Ever heard of a door!?" I yelled after him instead, before putting the kettle on the stove, starting the fire.

"Oh, well, just for me, then." I mumbled. No way was I going to sleep any more anyways. Dreams of the dark awaited me, of that I were certain. The thought alone made my hands tremble once more.

Absentmindedly I stared at the kettle until I deemed it hot enough, a.k.a. boiling, before taking it off, holding it with both hands while trying to figure out what I were supposed to do again. You know, like when you're simply so out of it that you forget the most basic knowledge.

Therefore it hit me hard, when I suddenly felt the heat from the kettle going into my hands that were firmly wrapped around it. I dropped it with a loud thud, and fell on my butt while trying to get away from the hot water spilling all over the kitchen floor. I ended up at a corner, looking at the steam coming from the water.

"Hey, I forgot saying hello from Happy... Lucy, what's wrong?" he was there with me in an instant, squatting in front of me with a worried expression plastered onto his face.

"I got startled, is all. The kettle was really hot, so I lost it when I tried taking it off..." I said with a shaky voice, and he sighed, sat down next to me.

"Jeez, Luce, of course it's hot. That's why the water is boiling, like DUH. Sometimes you're really weird," he said, and then took my hands, studied them. They were really red, but otherwise seemingly unharmed. I felt a blush coming on due to his words, but ignored it. I felt uncertain on wether it was there due to humiliation or annoyance.

"I'm alright. Uhm... would you mind staying.. Just a little while?" there. I said it, swallowing my pride, as he checked my hands for injuries.

"They seem alright. You were lucky, I guess," he stated, ignoring my words. He smelled like fire. Not the burning kind. Just.. warm. I leaned against his shoulder, stared ahead.

"Natsu?" He came with some kind of grunt, encouraging me to go on.

"What kind of magic do you use?" I asked. He laughed.

"Ah, I guess you don't remember. I'm a fire dragon slayer!" such pride in his voice. I smiled, and closed my eyes.

"Ah. Son on Igneel... right? I think.. I reme..mber... now," I felt myself slipping, and then the dragonslayer sighed, slid his arms behind and under me, lifting me up from the ground. I felt myself being carried and then put into bed, the duna being carefully wrapped around me.

"That's right," he mumbled in a somewhat sad voice, and I felt him walking over me, towards the window. Even in my half asleep state I managed to get a hold of his vest, tugging it slightly.

"Please.. stay a while. I don't want to be... alone.. yet," I mumbled. He left the bed. I still heard him walk around, and then I heard a clicking sound as he turned the lights off. This made my eyes open up wide for a moment, before Natsu proceeded to sit at the end of my bed, making himself comfortable.

"I'll stay," he stated, looked at me, before closing his eyes. Even in the darkness, I felt kind of safe knowing he was there. I fell asleep soon afterwards, smiling ever so slightly.

*******_You know, just to make up for the crappy flashback, I will drip more filled in parts as time goes on. Makes it more interesting, doesn't it, though this chapter might be a bit short. Oh well ;) _

_Gah.. who am I kidding! This is becoming one of those long ones, AGAIN.. Intitially this was supposed to only be the dream, making it what, 400-500 words, but NO, of course I had to be jumped by my muse all of a sudden, resulting in this cute NaLu moment. Still innocent, I know, but I don't believe any of them are really emotionally mature enough to get all fluffy just all of a sudden. Well, my impersonation of them in any case. So here you go, I hoped you enjoyed it... :)_*******


	8. Blank Sheets

*******_Hah! Here I am yet again, barely giving you the time to miss me. This time I intend to make it normal length. Yeah, the last one wasn't exactly as long as I made it out to be, merely 4-5 times longer than anticipated. You know, the usual..._

_I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline. Period. Now, let us begin ;)_*******

I opened my eyes, and to my relief the sun shone through the window. Natsu wasn't at the end of my bed though. Had I dreamt that, perhaps? Then I felt something shifting next to me, and I checked under my duna. Fair enough, there he was, curled together, obviously sleeping soundly. I smiled, and silently got up. This might become awkward, but at the moment I was glad he had chosen to stay. Tonight I would be sure to turn on all the lights BEFORE I went to shower, to avoid the same thing happening again.

After showering and making myself presentable in a denim skirt and a white shirt adorned with a blue cross, and a belt with my whip hanging at my side, I walked over to the bed again. I could hardly leave him there for much longer.

"OI! Time to wake up!" I yelled, and he shot up instantly, preparing for some kind of attack, it would seem. Then he looked at me, all dressed, and yawned loudly.

"Stop being so noisy... Let me sleep some more, will ya.." he trailed off, and fell back onto the mattress. I sighed, and my hand went to my whip.

"Either you are out of my bed by the time i count to three, or I WILL NOT hesitate to use my whip on you.."

"Luce..."

"ONE"

C'mon.."

"THREE!" I yelled, and lashed my whip making a crackling sound. He went out through the window faster than I knew was even possible, and I only saw a small whiff of his grumpy face before he was gone. I could hardly blame him, but I were hungry again, thus making me slightly grumpy myself. I also felt kind of embarassed due to my behaviour yesterday. Jeez, I hardly knew the guy, and still I convinced him to stay the night due to my childish fears. He only obliged due to his conscience, making it even worse, since I basically handed the blame over to him by using him like that.

***THE GUILD***

I sat down at the bar, watching Mirajane serving people, slightly envious of her seemingly simple relationship with everyone. She spotted me, and came over instantly, sitting down beside me.

"How are you today, Lucy?" she asked, her voice that of a worrying parent. I looked at her, and decided that she was trustworthy.

"Mirajane.."

"Just call me Mira, dear, everyone does,"

"Mira.. am I a mean person?" I asked, and she tilted her head.

"What do you mean, I think you will have to elaborate," she said carefully.

"Well.. you see.." I looked around, and didn't spot the person I did not want involveed in this conversation.

"Natsu seems to be blaming himself for.. you know.." I trailed off a little.

"And I kind of used it to convince him to stay with me last night..." I said, my face reddening slightly. The silverhaired barmaid shrieked, her eyes widening and then a horrible smile appeared on her lips.

"I knew it! I absolutely KNEW it! You got to tell me EVERYTHING!" she exclaimed as she jumped up and down clapping her hands, making a lot of people stare. My blush increased considerably when I realized what she thought was going on.

"NO, not THAT. MIRA!" I exclaimed, and put my head against the table, hiding my steaming face.

"Awww.. don't get my hopes up like that," she pouted, and then gave a glare to everyone to mind their own business before laying a hand over my shoulder.

"Go on, dear.." she said, calmly, but still kind of smiling that suspicious smile of hers, masked behind one of her understanding ones.

"I just don't want him to blame himself, you know. And then I went and made him stay due to his guilt, just 'cause I felt... scared," the last word came out only as a faint whisper, still with my face on the table, barely sideglancing at her.

"I'm a terrible person, and I know it. All 'cause I'm weak," I continued, and closed my eyes.

"You're not weak, Lucy. In fact, I think you are very strong. Of course you would be scared after facing an enemy that injured you that badly, and experiencing the gods know what. It's only natural to be scared. And when it comes to blame... we are a family. We can't help blaming ourselves when someone is hurt. You are just the same, you know," Mira smiled as I raised my head looking at her as she gave me her encouraging speech.

"Family. So that's what it's like," I smiled, then got up and hugged her tightly.

"Thanks," I whispered. She smiled at me when I let go.

"Ah, no problem. Now, I forgot to return this yesterday, so here you are," she took up a locket from somewhere, and I stared at it. Oh yeah, I had almost forgotten about that.

"Let me, just raise your hair. There you go," she stepped back after securing it around my neck, and I touched the cool metal thoughtfully. The cloaked shadowbeing had given me that. The woman clad in black.

"Oh, I almost forgot," I handed the barmaid some money. She looked at it.

"For the food. I promised I'd pay, remember?" I smiled. She nodded, and brought the money to a safe behind the counter. I felt better after sharing my worries with Mirajane, even though her imagination had gone wild for a moment. I blushed again as I thought of the scenario she had in mind, before ordering some breakfast. I felt kind of warm, so I ordered some ice cream together with the breakfast, eggs and bacon on toast.

"Yo." Gray announced his presence as he sat down next to me, ordering some ice cream for himself. He only wore his pants, and I briefly noted his shirt laying on the floor nearby, and his jacket not too far away from the shirt.

"You're up early today," he commented, and I frowned.

"Am I?" I replied. He nodded, and started eating his ice cream, as I started on mine.

"What kind of magic do you use, Gray?" I asked before I filled my mouth with pleasantly cool ice cream.

"You really do suffer from amnesia, huh?" he said, and I looked up from my early dessert.

"Well, yeah. It all feels familiar, but..." my memory is behind a wall of fire and shadow. I could hardly say that last part without sounding very accusive. They didn't know much, anyone in the guild. I had only giving them a rough outline of a battle I had been unable to win, and that I against all expectations had managed to work out some kind of deal, thus fulfilling my mission before stumbling back to the guild without my memories. Yep, vague to put it mildly, but that was the way I had chosen to proclaim the whole thing. From my point of view, it all worked out better this way.

Gray put his fist in his palm, and created an Ice Rose that he showed to me.

"I'm an ice mage. It is a kind of creating magic, making objects out of ice," he explained, and I nodded.

"You and Natsu don't get along too well, do you," I said, and he chuckled, thus confirming my suspicion.

"That would be an understatement to say the least, but we are both in the same family. Fairy Tail." he said it with a smile on his face, yet oddly serious.

"What about Erza?"

"I'm a requip mage. I can requip into many kinds of armours and weapons," I heard the answer from behind, and turned around to see Erza standing there smiling calmly. To show me her point she started glowing, and then suddenly wore some kind of armour formed as feathers, with a winglike form and all on her back, holding swords in both hands, before requipping back into her usual platebody and blue skirt. She sat on my other side and ordered a cake.

"So, how are you feeling today, Lucy?" she asked as se took a small bite of the cake with a silver fork.

"Good. I'm good. A bit confused, perhaps, but... I don't know, this place feels like home," I smiled, and stared into the air, then frowned a bit. To my utmost surprise the cake was gone by the time I shifted my gaze back to the scarlet mage.

"What kind of magic do I use then? I know I have my whip, but..." she seemed surprised.

"You.. you don't remember your own magic?" she started mumbling things like strange and lost herself in her own thoughts.

"You're a Celestial mage," Gray said, and I turned to him.

"Awesome," I lit up, and he smiled at me, nodding.

"What is it?" I continued, and he almost fell of his chair.

"My dear Princess, being a Celestial mage means having contracts with Spirits such as myself, calling us out to fight by your side," I turned around to see a guy bowing slightly with a smile on his face. He had wild, orange blonde hair, sunglasses, and he wore what looked like a tailored black suit. My eyes widened, before I shrieked, and jumped over the counter hiding my face behind my knees.

"Go away!" I yelled, my hands shaking as I held them tight around my legs as I sat there, trying to control my reflexes that screamed at me to run.

"You! What have you done this time," Erza said in a dark voice, and I heard the distinct sound of a sword leaving its scabbard.

"O..Oi, Erza, calm down.." Gray said, and then he was squatting in front me, having jumped over the counter himself.

"You okay?" he asked, and I looked up from behind my knees. He seemed worried.

"Is..." I took a deep breath to calm my quivering voice.

"Is he gone?" I asked back, my voice weak, but calm. I heard the sound of the sword sliding back into its scabbard, and then saw Erza walking around the counter, looking down at me.

"He is." she stated, and I could finally let out a breath I were unaware of holding.

"Hey. Don't cry. I mean.. It's alright now," Gray looked at me, all flustered, and I realized tears was flowing down my face. I dried them away, and smiled.

"Ah, sorry 'bout that. Your clothes, by the way," he looked down at that.

"When did that happen?!" he exclaimed. Alas, he was once more clad in nothing more than his underpants. I laughed as he scrambled up to find his missing pieces of clothing before I got up myself. Erza eyed me with suspicion, and I sighed through my smile.

"Sorry if I startled you. I didn't mean to. I just.." the guild-doors slammed open, revealing a very awake and smiling pinkhaired dragonslayer.

"Gimme breakfast, Mira!" he yelled, and I heard a confirmation from the barmaid. He then headed towards me with a broad grin plastered on his face.

"Morning, Luce. Wait.. what's wrong, were you crying?" he looked at my face, and I shook my head.

"Nope, only got something in my eyes. I'm fine, thanks," I said, before going around the barcounter, continuing to eat my ice cream. Vanilla ice cream, was there anything better? What other flavours would there be, anyways? Strawberry, perhaps, and.. chocolate?

"What's up with you, Erza, you look a bit lost there... what are you doing behind the counter anyways?" the Salamander continued, and I looked up at the Titania staring intently at me. I nearly choked on my ice cream, but managed to give a reassuring smile. I was alright. Truly. Just.. well, startled by the sudden urge to do something stupid, without really knowing what that was.

"Wait, don't tell me you want to try serving like Mira! It wouldn't fit you at all you know, since you'd obviously just scare the crap out of eve.." I stared as Erza, with a vein popping out of her forehead, hit Natsu sending him flying to the other end of the guildhall.

"Idiot," Gray muttered, before he got up from his seat where he once more had been engulfed in his cold meal and headed for the dragonslayer while shouting insults, getting a fair share in return. The first brawl of the day commenced, soon including Miras brother, Elfman, then Gajeel, then most of the male members present at the guild.

"Sometimes that guy really gives me a headache," Erza sighed while rubbing her temple.

"Aye sir!" Happy chimed in, and sat on the barcounter gobbling a fish Mira just handed to him.

"He is a bit dense, isn't he... Was that cake any good? I might try some," I smiled, and Erza sent me one last odd glance before ordering another cake, giving me a small slice. It really was good. Afterwards she headed towards the remaining brawlers while crackling her knucklesæ, with a glare that promised divine punishment. I enjoyed the remnants of my slice while listening to her victims screams.

"Stay," she ordered as she roughly placed a beat up Natsu in the barstool next to me.

"Here's your breakfast, Natsu. Just how you like it!" Mira smiled her usual smile, totally unaffected by the violence that had played out minutes earlier, and placed a HUGE burning chicken in front of the Salamander. He instantly lit up and started devouring it.

"So, how's your rent coming along?" he asked between mouthfuls. I chuckled at his appetite, since he ate as if he hadn't had a bite to eat in days.

"I'll manage, somehow. I found some money stashed away somewhere... It'll keep the landlady at bay for a few months," I said, settling for a half truth. I did find them stashed, alright.

"Sheesh, she's scary, though," I added thoughtfully.

"Not as scary as Erza though..." he mumbled silently as he looked behind his shoulder half expecting her to stand there with another glare. Since she wasn't, he let out a sigh and turned to me again. He had already finished his meal.

"So what are you up to today, then?" he asked casually.

"I need to do some shopping to fill my fridge again, I guess," I answered, thinking of what on earth I would be shopping for. What kind of food do I even like? Have I ever cooked a meal for myself? Burning it.. perhaps? But why burning... I sighed as the burning chicken came to mind. Jeez, I were going mental.

"Hey guys! What are you up to?" A voice asked in a high-pitched voice, and Lisanna appeared out of seemingly nowhere, her arms over both my and Natsus shoulders as she stood between us grinning wildly. Really, except from the incident when she thought I purposefully avoided speaking her name, she had been smiling non-stop, rivalling her own sister in cheeriness.

"Lisanna!" I smiled, and got a really good idea. The poor fellow had been hanging over me for some time, and his BEST friend Lisanna would most likely cheer him up. Even I couldn't avoid smiling around her, even though I felt oddly.. less familiar with her than all the others. Weird. The Salamander smiled broadly while looking up at her.

"'sup?" he asked, and she giggled.

"I just asked you guys about that, remember?" she said, and I decided to unfold my plan.

"Hey, Natsu, you're pretty much broke, aren't you?" I asked, and he quickly glanced at me and nodded before looking back up at the white-haired mage. He seemed oddly, possessive of her. Perhaps they had a thing? Nah. I might not know much, but I already figured out that the pinkhaired boy was dense as a rock when it came to such things.

"You should go on a job with Lisanna then! I'll simply manage for.."

"No," he said all of a sudden, and looked at me with stubborn eyes. There it was, the guilty glare. I smiled while sighing inwardly.

"And why not? You need food, don't you?" I pointed at the plate, the one that used to hold that ridiculously large chicken on it. Yup. He needed a LOT of food.

"I'm not going," he said, and crossed his arms. Lisanna had let go of me now, and looked at me questionably. I gave her a glance. Help me... I tried signalling to her without a word.

"You will go, Natsu. I will not sit here watching you starve just for some petty guilt that has NO BLOODY REASON TO BE THERE!" I sighed, clenched my fists, looked at those who dared look in our direction with a killer glare. Then I set my eyes back on the dragonslayer, awaiting his submission. Yeah, it better be submission.

"I'll get food even if I'm broke," he said. Stubborn, but it wasn't a no. I sent daggers through my eyes.

"Luce..." he said while pouting, giving me the puppy eyes. There would be no bloody mercy even if he came crawling.

"Fine! I'll go," he said, finally averting his eyes. I rolled my eyes at his grumpy tone, and let my head fall to the counter. WWhile listening to him trampling over to the board, ripping off a request, getting it approved, and then left te hall. Then I sihed as the pressure fell, even though I felt very hot all of a sudden.

"Who put on the bloody heater.." I mumbled sullenly. It's too damn hot!

"Tell me about it," I heard Gray mutter next to me and I lifted my head to look at him.

"For fucks sake Gray, your clothes!" I yelled, and covered my eyes as he swore loudly. In my hurry to get away from the sight of Gray in his birthsuit I toppled my chair and fell to the floor. Then all went black.

It couldn't have lasted long, since I still heard Gray swearing and asking people if they'd seen his boxers anywhere. I sat up, shook my head and checked my body. Nothing out of the ordinary? Nope, I seemed to be alright. Still hot though. By the gods, did Gray feel like this all the time? If stripping would make this go away, I could see the temptation. Oh god, did I just think that?

"Mira!" I yelled as I put myself back on a stool, waved for the barmaid to come over while giving her a wide grin.

"Give me some Whiskey, please," I said, and she studied me.

"You sure, Lucy? You are known to be a lightweight when it comes to alcohol, you know," she was sceptical, but I waved it off.

"Just give it to me," I said, and she obliged, gave me a glass with a little whiskey in it. I took it like a shot of water, and sighed. There it was, that memory of a smiling woman with black or blonde hair. She grinned with a large bottle in her hand. *When nothing else works, alcohol'll solve your problems*. Might as well solve this the Fairy Tail way.

*******_I truly needed to add that Mira moment. Can't be all serious all the time, can we now. Where's the fun in that? Now, some things have been settled, but the drama is FAR from over. What in the world will happen next? Indeed, we have arrived at yet another cliffhanger. Or have we..?_

_Writhe in anticipation until we meet again in chapter 9 ;)_*******


	9. Dreams and Fear

*******_Last chapter was too long, so I had to cut it in half, thus giving birth to this one. Hope it is to your liking! Oh, and I kind of released it late on purpose because I were in a bad mood and no one seemed to be reading chapter 8... Oh well, shit happens, and I'm all happy again, so here we are. Enjoy._

_I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline. Such is the way of life_*******

"Just give it to me," I said, and she obliged, gave me a glass with a little whiskey in it. I took it like a shot of water, and sighed. There it was, that memory of a smiling woman with black or blonde hair. She grinned with a large bottle in her hand. *When nothing else works, alcohol'll solve your problems*. Might as well solve this the Fairy Tail way. Then I looked at the glass. Smelled it...

"Mira!" I exclaimed, and she smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, honey. I had to stop you there, I've given you alcohol ONCE, and that was bad enough," she gave me a light laugh, and I groaned, put my head against the counter again. She was right, though. Alcohol wouldn't solve anything.

"Is something the matter, Lucy?" Titania asked, suddeny beside me. I swear, one of these days I would get a heart attack due to these people. I raised my head. She had the same look on her face as when that strange man in a suit had appeared.

"You know you can talk to me, we are very close friends" she sad with a straight face. It made me smile. At the same time though, it made me sad. All these people knew me, cared for me, and I returned their care with literal ignorance. Shouldn't I be able to recognize these beings that clearly would stay by me no matter what? Would I be able to do the same to them.

"I'm alright, Erza. No worries, right? But..." I tried finding a way of asking. It sounded SO weird though.

"Go on.." she said. Encouraging me.

"Well... tell me about me. I might, you know, remember things if I get to know the Lucy YOU know.. right? Like, do I even have a last name?" I felt my head heaten up, and Erza looked surprised.

"Well..." she seemed to regain her composure.

"Your name is Lucy Heartfilia. You are.. ehrm.. WERE a heiress of the Heartfilia Konzern, a family with, well, a lot of money. You used to live in a VERY large mansion..." she fumbled with her words, and I stared at her. A.. heiress? No. Nope. Never. I couldn't even imagine ME in a frilly piece of... I started giggling. Tried to contain it since Titania had seemed so certain in her belief. Can't.. hehe.. hold it.. I burst out laughing, tears running as I held my stomach. Too. Damn. Priceless!

"Oh my gosh, ERZA! You almost had me there. *snickering*. Me *giggles*, a heiress?" I fell off the chair, clutching my stomach. Then, all of a sudden, I stopped.

***MEMORY? FANTASY? ILLUSION?***

"Can she even talk? Look at the poor thing. What do you think that monster did with her? Barbaric." I sat in huddled a corner, watched them whisper. I can hear you. I hate you. I hate... humans. I growled, beared my teeth at them.

"Look at that. She doesn't even know what she is doing. Poor thing." they nodded, as they stood away from me. Poor thing. The words kept reappearing on their lips, filled with contempt and PITY. One of them separated from the rest. A female with brown hair.

"Now, now, little Lucy. You are safe now," she said it as if addressing an animal. I am not an animal. I glared at her, but stopped bearing my teeth.

"Careful now. We were given orders not to approach her, Mariah-san," one of the others the others warned.

"Don't worry. She is just a small child. What can she possibly..." I jumped out, clawed her in the face before being yanked back by the chain around my neck. She shrieked. Serves you right. Monster. Abomination. Animal.

The females rushed over to her, dragged her out of my reach before I could launch another attack.

"Ah, I'm alright. She doesn't know what she's doing. Poor thing," the female said. Oh, I know. Monster. Animal.

"Mur..der..er," I growled at them again. Poor thing. It echoed from the walls, again and again. Poor thing. Poor Thing. POOR THING.

***MOMENT OVER***

I sat on the floor, my mind trying to sort out what just happened. What was that? A memory? If so, I saw no castles, no frilly dresses. No wealth. Who am I?

"Lucy. LUCY!" I saw up as a woman towering over me. Er..za?

"I don't feel... too good," I mumbled and covered my mouth with my hand as the urge to hurl came over me unexpectedly. This place REEKED of alcohol, sweat and.. other things. My nose burned with all the sensations, and I felt myself gagging all over again.

"For crying out loud," I mumbled, got up and started running for the exit. Ah, fresh air!

"Lucy..? You're bleeding..." I heard the voice, and smelled Erza before I turned around. She had to be wearing perfume or something. Too much perfume. Then I felt the world tilting and everything went black.

***THE INFIRMARY... AGAIN***

I opened my eyes, and saw a worried Erza and Gray stay by my bedside.

"Jeez, I have to stop doing this. How long was I gone?" I asked, and Erza shrugged.

"It's only your second time, and you've been out for five hours, tops. Wendy managed to heal you, somewhat, but you might have a concussion due to this MORON over here," at the last part she gave a killer glare towards Gray. He winced at that, and took a few steps back from the girls dark aura. Oh.. yeah. I must've hit my head on something when Gray chose to discard all his clothes. He looked kind of bruised, courtesy of Erza, I'd bet. I sniffed the air. Thankfully, my old sense of smell had returned.

"Erza-san..." a small voice pleaded, and I noticed Wendy standing by the other side of the bed as I used my elbows to put myself up in a sitting position.

"Lucy-san. What Erza-san was trying to say is that I had to wake you up because of the head trauma. You have a slight concussion. I eased the pain, but... you can't sleep for a while, 'kay?" she looked so sorry for my predicament I had to smile.

"No worries, Wendy. You've done a wonderful job," I and patted her head. She squirmed a bit, but seemed relieved that I wasn't angry. Very well. I had woken up early today, so losing a few hours probably weren't such a bad thing. I heard the sound of a door opening, and in came Lisanna, all of a sudden, silently closed the door behind her.

"I heard it from Mira-nee. You ok, Lucy? She told me they couldn't wake you up. I'm glad you're up though, since it's only a matter of time before.." the door slammed open and I saw a panting Natsu stand in the doorway looking straight at me. With loud steps he strode over, looking at me with accusing eyes.

"..he finds out..." Lisanna finished with a sigh, as Natsu stared at me intently.

"You're awake," he said. Yes, thank you for stating the obvious, Natsu.

"Did you just break the door, Natsu?" a voice caused him to turn around, and he visibly shrank as Erza cracked her knuckles and stared down at him with a deadly aura emanating from her body. Yes, the infirmary door was less durable than the main entrance, and had broken off its hinges. Then, to my surprise, she shrunk back to her normal self, massaged her temple while groaning.

"YOU!" she yelled, and Natsu squeaked out an AYE!

"I will forgive you, for now, since there are more pressing matters at hand. Bring Lucy home, and make sure that she DOES NOT SLEEP." some of the aura was back, and he nodded, then frowned, perhaps realizing what he head agreed to.

"Why though?" He asked.

"Come on. I'll promise to stay awake. I can take care of..." then I noticed the darkness outside the window.

"I'm hungry. Let's go eat something," I smiled and got out of bed, stumbled sideways as my sense of up and down clearly off. I felt his arms being there for support right away, placing my arm over his shoulder.

"Let's!" he said as his stomach started to rumble loudly.

***GUILDHALL***

They all seemed relieved that I were back and awake as I ascended the stairs with help from Natsu. Mira brought me "some real food", as Natsu called it, it being one HUGE chicken, not ablaze like the one he got, but nonetheless. I also got a slice of cake from Erza, and another milkshake, vanilla this time. I didn't finish the chicken, but the dragonslayer cuickly discarded it onto that black hole that had to exist in his stomach. People started laughing, albeit nervously, and I got the feeling that I might've done something...

"Ah, time to go, Lucy!" Natsu decided eventually. He never found the reason to why he had to keep me awake, but dared not refuse the great Titania. It was kind of late I had to admit, so I didn't refuse him as he took hold of my wrist and started dragging me off.

"Aye, sir!" the cat I now knew as Happy agreed, flying after us. When the pinkhaired mage opened the door, however, I stopped walking. Natsu turned around, smiling.

"Come on, Luce. It's late, and we have a LONG night in front of u..

"No." I said, looking into the dark.

"What do you mean, no? 'course we do. 'cause Erza said so," I saw him wince at the name.

"I don't wanna," I replied, standing petrified as the shadows tried curling around me, suffocating me. Slowly I took one step back. Then another. I heard him sigh.

"Well, we're going anyways," he said, and swiftly lifted me up and slung me over hhis shoulder, started walking again. My eyes widened as the light was replaced by darkness. I started gasping, clutched my neck.

"NATSU, can't breathe! Let me go. No, let me go!" I started screaming, and he put me on the ground. I kept gasping for air, ignored the person next to me. Can't. Breathe. My lungs aren't working. There is.. no air. I ran back into the guild, jumped over the counter, sat down while drawing in air. The best feeling in the world. The whole guild was silent, when I heard footsteps. Not Natsu. Someone else.

"This seems to be a gloomy bunch," a male voice said. I didn't recognize it.

"Gildarts?" I heard Natsu call out, his voice shrouded in.. surprise? Disbelief? I heard a sigh. A really loud sigh.

"I guess it's true then... she's dead. Lucy Heartfilia is dead," he finally said. If I thought the guild was silent before, that would be nothing like this, as every single one at that moment seemed to stop breathing.

*******_Fooled you good there, didn't I. Nope, no drunken chapter. As to why... Well, I wrote ahead, as I sometimes do when I feel uncertain about certain events, and in chapter 11 Lucy went on a hunting trip for whatever reason, and died. Sad to say, when my muse is backed into a corner it starts killing off my characters. The death of Lucy was so utterly meaningless and badly written too... that's why I decided to back up a bit to find out what went wrong, and when, and I eventually put the blame on Drunk Lucy. It was fun writing it, but the continuation sucked. So here we are ;)_

_And, I also wanted Gildarts to join the fun. Period. How to proceed, hm... I'll think of something, no worries. Might take a while, but. I know I keep saying that, though the longest wait you guys have had to endure so far is 2 day, but one day... you might have to wait 3 days! Well, seriously, I bare managed to save Lucy this time (how her drinking habits led to her walking alone in a forest with a homemade spear looking for deers is beyond me, but that's imagination for ya), so I might actually need a break after this..._

_Anyways, thanks for reading! Have an otherwise pleasant morning/day/evening/night ;) 'till next time, kwa heri (Swahili)_*******


	10. Gildarts Tale

*******_Yup... Here we are, and might this be the finale? Might this be the end of all things? You'll have to read and find out! *sigh*, I'm spoiling you again, but I needed to publish it before I changed my mind... Damn me and my way too swift updates, right?_

_I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline. Let us continue..._*******

...

Silence.

"What?" I hesitantly looked over the barcounter, saw the questioning Natsu stand with his face filled with confusion, and denial. The guy he currently was staring at, the one I only could see the back of, was a broad man clad in a cloak not too different from the one I had been given by the mysterious woman, but then again, cloaks looked very similar. I could spot brown hair too. That was about as much I saw, though I already knew his face. Sinister, angry, and sad, slightly bearded and with brownish black eyes. That at least was the face he showed me when he sat by my body, looking at the pink mark that adorned my hand.

"Gildarts?" I said, my voice thin and scared, as I stood up completely, making the man turn his head so quickly he almost got a whiplash. I saw him paling, his face surprised, then sad, then... angry. As the last emotion made its entry he stalked over faster than I really could comprehend, and all of a sudden I were in a crater that used to be the wall, with his fingers wrapped around my neck as he stared at me in desperate rage.

"YOU... Who the hell are you?!" he said, and I stared blankly at him. Not that I could say much, his hold of my neck didn't allow air, much less sound to escape.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I saw Natsu engulfed in flames, confused but furious.

"NATSU! Lucy died 10 days ago during a solo mission. I know, since I were the one that buried her. THIS.. can't be her." he said, calmly, and clearly suffocating me without much trouble. Can't... Can't. Enemy... All.. enemy... No. They're friends. I saw Natsu attack, and then I blacked out.

***WAKING UP***

I woke up, surrounded by purple letters forming a small cage. It made me want to growl, but I resisted the urge as I saw Natsu in a similar cage, and Gildarts as well.

"You better explain yourself, Gildarts, for hurting a fellow member like that," Master said, his voice serious, as the other guildmembers silently stood and stared at our cages. Gildarts remained silent as he stood in his cage. I sat with my knees up to my chin, hands tightly wrapped around my legs. Natsu on the other hand was screaming, kicking and punching the wall, without flames.

"There is no escape, Natsu. I made it so that none of you will be able to use your magic within those runes," Fried said, standing next to the cages, completely calm but serious. I couldn't really remember seeing him smile, but he usually could be... less serious. Really, he was a serious person, what can I say?

"What is the meaning of this, Gildarts?!" Titania yelled, pointed at him accusingly with one of her swords. He sighed.

"I guess you all deserve an explanation," he answered. He seemed uncomfortable, and raised one arm to scratch the back of his head.

"That would be nice. It isn't like you to attack family like that," Master repeated, and Gildarts sighed. I guess he didn't want to tell this story, after all.

"Well.. here it goes..."

***FLASHBACK, GILDARTS POINT OF VIEW, COMPLETE WITH.. COMMENTARY?***

I had a mission to subdue an unknown monster that supposedly had started killing off travelers going through a certain forest. It was an unofficial report, of course, since far from everyone did et attacked, but the massacred victims this beast left behind were rather.. grotesque, so the people in the town at the end of the forest requested it found, and removed.

The forest itself isn't very big on the map. It is mostly uncharted territory due to some ancient magic keeping people away. It penetrates the forest, and some areas are worse than others. It would seem that it somehow slows time. I figured as much when I arrived at the town after two months of walking, and the townspeople told me that I only accepted the mission one week earlier.

Anyways, I returned to the forest searching for this beast. I had a map over the places it had attacked before, and decided to check those areas out to see if it would give me any clues as to what I were dealing with. It was then I met her first spirit...

I walked silently in between the trees, mostly pine, but also some birch and the occasional rowan. The silence started to creep me out. No birds, no animals, nothing. I had been walking for days, maybe weeks, without any other sound than my feet hitting the ground. The air was crisp, it felt like it would be snowing soon, though I doubted that, since it was in the middle of summer. Then again, who knew what kind of season this even was with the magic messing up time itself? A sudden rustling in the bushes made me turn around, ready for battle. I didn't expect what came though. It was a small female with.. i guess it USED to be pinkish hair, and something that might resemble a maids outfit. Now though, her hair was colored red, and her clothing was in tatters, not exactly leaving much to the imagination.. her body was molested. Badly. Her whole front was covered in four, deep gashes that went from her shoulder and all the way down to her thigh. A wound on her forehead wouldn't stop bleeding, running into one of her eyes. Otherwise pretty much her whole body was covered in cuts and bruises. How she could even stand was beyond me. Her eyes were the worst though. I have never seen such utter fear. She stood there for a fraction of a second, and then flung herself at me.

"What have you done with mistress?! Give her BACK! GIVE HER BACK!" she kept screaming with a crazed voice as she attacked me over and over again. Damn, she was fast when considering her injuries, and her eyes stared without seeing all the time, never blinking, never hesitating. She was... broken. In the end I hit her, just to calm her down, and she started glowing, all of a sudden.

"Give her... back," she mumbled, silently, and disappeared within the light. I didn't understand what the hell was going on, but chose to continue, though I hardly understood why or how that woman could disappear like that, or who this mistress of hers was. I did, however, get that someone else was traveling through this forest, and that the monster had struck again.

My second encounter was with a bull, his strength was something to behold. He too was damaged, bleeding, and I could see his entrails sticking out. He kept yelling about his master, and it clicked into place. Whoever this master was, she was a celestial mage, and this would be her spirits. The fact that she could summon two at a time was impressive in itself, especially when both were this powerful. I barely managed to dodge his flying axe as he charged at me again and again, his eyes wild and unseeing.

I finally saw him disappear, after having to hit him quite hard several times, and I really wondered where this master was. Really, spirits usually always stays close to the keeper of their keys, and here I had met two that aimlessly wandered around attacking everything in their way.

This continued. I almost got drowned by a crazy wench with a fish tail, a guy in a horse suit nearly killed me with his archery, a crab dude tried to make me go bald. All of them were injured, and the mistress, master, brat or whatever they chose to call her was nowhere to be found. Five spirits. I could hardly believe it. Five spirits, and whatever it was they were fighting they clearly weren't on the winning side.

The sun was pale and cold, moving lazily over the heavens, but without any plans to set any time soon. I were aware of the phenomena called the midnight sun, but honestly thought I would have to travel further north to experience it. I also distinctly remembered it being dark when I arrived in the town that requested my help. Jeez, this place was creeping me out. It messed with my sense of time even more than the actual warping that were going on. Had it been hours since my last counter? Days?

"Who goes there?" a voice suddenly called out, and I stopped, since I had heard that voice before, even though it had sounded more calm and confident then rather than scared and desperate. Sure enough, out from the bushes arrived none other than Loke. His glasses were cracked, his suit dirty and he had a giant gash going from his shoulder to his hip. His eyes were hollow, scared, but determined. It didn't look like he had been sleeping for who knows how long, seeing those seemingly permanent bags under his eyes.

"Gildarts!?" he exclaimed, and for once, I did not get attacked. Instead he started limping towards me, firmly grabbing my arms.

"I.. I can't feel her! You have to help her. She told me to run. She is injured... badly, and I can't FEEL HER!" he started yelling, shaking as tears started streaming down his face. I were confused. Wait, if Loke was here, that would mean that...

"Find her, Gildarts! Save her! SAVE LUCY!" he yelled, and kept on running, screaming her name. Lucy. That girl... the one that stayed with Natsu, was it not...? I paled, and started running myself. Shit! Shit shit SHIT!

***MOMENTARY BACK AT THE GUILD***

The guild was silent. Even Natsu, dense, stupid, straight forward Natsu, remained silent as he stared at the man that had buried me. When Gildarts didn't seem to be continuing, his gaze shifted to me. His eyes were wide. Then Gildarts continued...

***BACK TO FLASHBACK***

I eventually arrived at a clearing. It had been part of the woods, clearly, but in the heat of battle all trees had been either smashed or violently flung out of the way, some of the trees having deep clawmarks from something ridiculously strong. There, in the middle of this newfound field, I saw two beings. One was lying on he ground while the other hovered over him or her. I ran over, and the one hovering turned around. She was a female with long, black hair. She smiled, and then disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

I hardly recognized the girl lying there, torn up and still bleeding. Her eyes stared straight ahead, not blinking, not seeing anything anymore. I were too late. She was..

***AT THE GUILD***

He didn't finish his sentence.

"You weren't supposed to remember..." I mumbled as I broke out from the glare of my alleged partner, stared at Gildarts instead as he turned around looking at me. I sighed, and lifted my head enough for it to be above my knees.

"I know... I know that I.. died. I remember. I just wanted to stay.. you know? Say goodbye." I said weakly, and felt HIS gaze boring into me again. I started staring at the floor instead.

"No. You're alive. You are RIGHT HERE. I heard your heart beating. I can SMELL you..." Natsu said, I could feel his increasing rage.

"No. You smell me because the body is what used to be mine. I'm.."

"Don't you DARE say it!"

"..dead." I finished. I knew it all along, really. I were never buried alive. I were buried. Period. It had been nagging me for quite some time, the feeling of something being wrong. I were dead, all along. Gone. Tears finally started streaming down as I realized the truth, the undeniable truth.

*******_THE END. Or is it yet another cliffhanger? I'll have to ponder on that for a while, but do tell me what you think ;) I might have a continuation waiting if my muse comes back in a better mood. Already told you that she can be a bitch sometimes if i put too much pressure on her._

_Nah, just kidding... not about my muse being a bitch, 'cause really, she is... No, this is NOT the end. Yet. I have ideas. Lots and lots of ideas. I just need to turn said ideas into writing so I can show it to you ;) 'till then, ate logo! (Portuguese)_*******


	11. Vera Enters the Stage

*******_Here I am, after... how many days? I got the week off from school, and boy have I been sick.. Let me just tell you, right now, that this is chapter 11 version 4. Yep, I have written 3 other versions that ended in ways I do not care to mention, and this finally showed SOME of the things that needed to be included in the story. Hope you like it, and don't be too harsh on me if it comes out weird. My chapters does that, quite frequently I might add._

_But alright, I do not own FAIRY TAIL, nor its characters or its storyline. Let us continue..._*******

The only sound that could be heard were my sobs. Why were I crying? Such explanations were unnecessary. Heck, I just admitted out loud that I were no longer among the living. Not many people got to do that, and frankly I had no idea as to HOW, not to speak of WHY.

"Lucy. Don't joke around like that. The fun is over. You got us," I heard laughing, and looked over at Natsu, who tried smiling that broad smile of his, and failing miserably. He only managed to make a grimace where he showed off his teeth. I wanted to scream at him. Did he think this was any easier for me? I were LOST in a world I didn't belong in.

"How do I even leave..." I mumbled to myself while gripping my legs tighter and hiding my face behind my knees. It had merely been a whisper, a loud thought on my behalf.

"DON'T YOU EVEN CONSIDER LEAVING! YOU ARE A FAIRY TAIL MAGE, AND FAMILY STICK TOGETHER! DON'T BE A FUCKING COWARD AND FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE! IF YOU LEAVE YOU'RE A LIAR, AND A SPIRIT MAGE NEVER LIES! YOU HAVE TO STAY, LIKE YOU SAID YOU WOULD!" he started screaming at me. Accusing me of being a coward, a liar, and demanding me to stay. Gray stared at me in shock. As did Erza. Some stared at me, while others stared at Natsu with pity evident in their eyes as he resumed his task trying to break out of his cage.

"Don't you DARE leave me. Not again. You promised you'd stay..." his voice faltered, and I looked over too him again. Such a fickle boy, he now looked at me with the worst puppy eyes yet, filled with pleading, desperation and sadness.

"What have we here? I thought this place to be... rowdier," all eyes turned to the door, where Porlyusca stood with a stranger. A stranger to the guild, if nothing else. She was a woman clad in a cloak that seemingly were made out of smoke. A pale hand reached out, holding a brown bag over her shoulders. The crack from the hand revealed a black t-shirt and some black pants beneath the cloak. A studded belt with a silver buckle shaped like a dragon's head completed the look. Right now her hood was down showing her silky, black hair, a pale, thin face and blood red eyes.

"Ah.. nothing like the smell of booze in the mornin', though it might be night time now... not that it matters much. In the name of Hel this place reeks of humans though," she made a face, and held her nose to show her point.

"Just get this over with, Vera, so I can go home to my forest," Porlyusca stated, blunt an to the case.

"Awww... but I want to say hi to everyone, like my coz Gajeel over there!" she lit up, and waved to him, where he stood still, his eyes wide. He KNEW her?!

"Who the hell're you?" he said eventually, and the woman pouted for a second. Apparently not.

"Ah, forgot what a little runt you were at the time. I were part of that clan of yours, y'know, before the INCIDENT. Tough times. Honestly thought you died off with the rest o' them, until I found out you got picked up by Metalicana, that is," he visibly paled.

"'course I hunted the thing that did it down and killed it. Nasty things, Beasts, but not invincible like some wants to believe. Heck, I even got one 'ere!" as to show her point, she slung the bag on the ground, stuck her hand in it, and pulled a... head... up by the hair. Several people shrieked and looked away, but I merely stared at it. It had black hair, much like her, blue eyes and teeth that looked a bit like sharks teeth. Sharp and pointy. It was also female.

"As you can see, not immortal, but damn was it hard to take down," she put it back in the bag and sighed.

"What is your purpose?" Titania asked, serious. She clearly did not trust the lady, but refrained from attacking since Porlyusca was with her.

"*sigh*... It would seem that I must start from the beginning with you, since you're merely ignorant brats that know NOTHING. Jeez, kids these days." she answered as if she was in her fifties or sixties, though she looked like around 20. Suddenly she looked directly at me, and smirked. I flinched. Would she... harm them?

"Now, what do you kiddies say to a little bedtime story before I get down to business, eh? Of course, we can't have anyone misbehavin', but I do find those cages unnecessary. Hm.. nah, I think I'll just get rid o' them," she were suddenly gone, then reappeared as all cages shattered. Fried paled and stared at the woman as she smiled and moved in between the rest of the guild and the three of us that had been caged seconds ago.

"Let us begi.." she tsked as Gildarts approached her, and raised her hand, put a finger to his forehead. Flicked it. A loud sound was heard as the man was sent flying back by the force of it, and collided harshly with the wall beneath the stairs that would lead to Makarov's office. She moved her pointing finger back and forth as if reprimading a child.

"There, there, little kiddies, haven't mummy and daddy taught you to respect your elders? Now sit down and listen while I tell you the story..." people now showed some of the fear they ought to when facing this... being. She sat down.

"What the hell do you want?!" The Salamander clearly found something to direct his anger at rather than me. He was furious, burning and.. well, furious.

"I want to tell a STORY, dragon boy. Not the sharpest knife in the cupboard, are you? Now, sit down before I have to flick your forehead too. I am not here to fight, so sit DOWN," as she said it, an invisible force made him collapse to the ground, before she started smiling again.

"GET THIS OVER WITH AND STOP GIVING ME WORK!" Porlyusca stated loud and clear as she moved over to the two injured mages while checking their vitals. The woman rolled her eyes, but didn't move to attack anyone else.

"So here it goes. Long ago, the world belonged not only to humans, but was shared between them and the dragons. And of course, we all know how humans despise sharin', now don't we." she stopped when the dragonslayer finally seemed to be calming down. I weren't sure wether it was at the mention of dragons or if he passed out due to the pressure.

"Of course, like always, the humans plotted to take over as the single rulers. Now, humans did have magic, but it wasn't much compared to the dragons, and a massive amount of strength was also needed to take down such massive creatures. Thus, during the dark age in magic history, the Beasts came to be. There was this wizard that finally thought of fusing dragon magic with human beings. A great idea you think? That's where you're WRONG. Fusing so much power within a human body without the proper training is extremely painful, not to speak of dangerous. Most of the subjects died due to the pain, while others either got dismangled over time or simply went mental and went on a killing spree. A few survived until the end, and they became the first Dragon Slayers," people sat eerily quiet while she told the story. I disliked where this was going.

"Due to the experiments they suffered under for so many years, the subjects lost their ability to feel empathy, or pretty much anything for that matter. They were like animals, killing machines that most people couldn't handle. Imagine an animal without compassion, and with the strength of a dragon. Aint much fun fightin' one of those, is it little one?" she turned to me, and I flinched, slowly shook my head. Not that I remembered much from i anyways.

"'Course, this was during the dark age of magic, and most Beasts died a long time ago, either killed or buckled over due to old age or something. Well, obviously not everyone, this one managed to survive it would seem," she patted her brown bag. She was sitting and smiling as if there was nothing wrong with carrying a head around.

"Oh, and I almost forgot!" the woman hit herself lightly on the head.

"There is ONE more thing about Beasts. Since they have SO much compressed magic within their bodies, if they ever get to attack you witthut killin', their predicament is CONTAGIOUS. Ah, and THAT brings me to my business here," she rose up, walked over to Natsu where he laid, still unable to move.

"You see, no HUMAN can survive such an attack, dragon boy. THAT is why she needs to BURN," she said lowly, and his eyes widened, before I felt extreme heat as I once again found myself completely ablaze and screamed as the agony settled itself and became my world.

***VERA THINKING, GUYS!***

The peace and quiet didn't last long after that.

"LUCY!" the boy yelled, the one I knew as Natsu, but there was hardly much he could do, considering the force of a dragon that held him down. Yup, I knew that nothing else could keep him pinned like that. Then, all of a sudden I had to turn around to stop this wench from penetrating me with a sword. I smirked, and took hold of the blade, broke it off and took a bite.

"Gah... You clean your swords too often, girl. Then again, with your reputation that might be needed. I would change the polishing cream though, this tastes horrible!" I stated while I kept blocking her attacks with my forearms. I smiled showing off my canines, and did what I did with the male, flicked her across the hall and into a wall. Suddenly I felt the ground under me freeze, however, and I fell on my butt. Whoa, uncool...

"Yo, Ice-head, think ya can beat me? I have but ONE weakness.."

"IRON DRAGONS ROAR!" all of a sudden I were surrounded by this grey mass of metal that cut my clothing up. And I just got those, too.

"Thats mean, coz! Here I am helpfully giving my weakness and you just.."

"WIND DRAGONS ROAR!"  
"ICE MAKE, LANCE"  
"IRON DRAGONS ROAR!"  
"HEAVENLY WHEELS ARMOR, DANCE OF SWORDS!"

I sighed, and decided to reply. I drew my breath in, and were about to yell the first I could think of. Wait! Let's play dead! That's always fun. I let the attacks hit me, since well, let's face it, my clothing were already done for anyways. The amount of dust was astonishing. Jeez, guys, you might need to clean this place more often.

"Did we get her?"

"Hell should I know?"

"She really is your cousin, did you see her eat that metal?"

"HEY!"

"Sorry guys, sorry to disappoint ya," I said as the dust finally cleared some. I had lost the cape, too much effort in maintaining it. Now I only wore my black clothing, tattered and showing off my scars to the world, scars after fighting the Beast... and other things...

"Like I were ABOUT TO TELL you, my weakness is.."

"FIRE DRAGONS ROAR!" shit.. when did..?

"...fire" I finished as I felt myself disappearing within the orange, yellow and red mass of heat. I had to sigh through it all, here I finally had some fun, and then... Oh well, I could hardly be mad when it ended this splendidly, could I? Mission accomplished.

*******_HAH! I made it! Somehow. Though my fighting description suck, I made it through another chapter. Who is this Mysterious Vera? What did she want? We might now, NEXT TIME._

_Please tell me your thoughts, though this seems to be another filler chapter that does little to nothing when it comes to solving all the big questions. We need some of those too, after all, just to spice it up a bit. yeah, yeah, I kind of feel like that author in the Anime that cut off his arm after finishing his excellent book. Not that this is THAT good, really, but I had problems topping the last chapter that pretty much explained everything leaving me with little to continue with... But, like I said, I do have a lot of ideas. I just need to put them into writing so I can show 'em off ;)_*******


	12. Blistering Pain

*******_Okay, this is a short chapter, but it might enlighten you when it comes to some very confusin parts in the last chapter. Vera is the cloaked Lady, by the way. I THINK I mentioned her name once or twice, but sorry if you didn't catch it there. So, here we go, another closer perhaps?_

_I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline_*******

I fell to the ground, unable to breathe... unable to... by the gods, it hurt! Porlyusca was by my side in an instant, Wendy the moment later.

"Oh my god.." the little healer said, and tears started froming in her eyes.

"There is no time, heal her windpipes NOW or we're going to LOSE her!" the old woman ordered, and she did what she was told. God, it felt like I just swallowed molten lava.

"LUCY!" the voice came, and Natsu came over, looked like he was about to cry. I sucked in a painful but much needed breath of air, and felt myself slipping away...

***POV WITHOUT THE "I"***

"Lucy.. Luce... she isn't MOVING!" Natsu said and tried getting over to the badly burnt body.

"Calm down, boy, she merely lost consciousness. Now that she can breathe again we need to move her to the infirmary right away, along with all the other... mishaps," Porlyusca said it for once with urgency rather that annoyance.

"What is the meaning of this, Porlyusca," Master asked as people did what she said. Apparently a lot of them had been under some kind of spell that kept them from moving during the battle. She ignored him until the girl, Lucy, finally was in a bed with Wendy working on her again.

"Here you are girl, a specially prepared cream to heal burns," she said while handing a jar over to the girl, that nodded.

"You brought that THING over here, and a lot of my children got hurt. One is dying right now. I demand an explanation," the little man said angrily.

"Her name was Vera, and she...*sigh* what she told you was right. Lucy was up against a Beast, and she got badly molested. No human can survive that, and Lucy suffered pain I cannot even imagine as her body tried rejecting the magic that went berserk in her body," she said, some of her age showing through her voice.

"Vera... the woman I brought with me, showed up at my door 2 days ago...

**FLASHBACK**

I were working on yet another medicine, enjoying the piece and quiet. Then, when I turned around, I saw a lady clad in black leaning against the doorframe.

"I heard that you are an excellent healer," the stranger said, smiled a small smile, seemingly amused.

"You heard right, now leave me alone to work," I answered, annoyed with this stranger that dared trespass.

"Say, you any good with burns?" she continued as if I didn't just brush her off. I turned around at this, stalked over to her to give her a piece of my mind. Her eyes widened a bit when I poked her with a finger.

"If you have no business here, then leave me ALONE, god, I hate the despicable smell of.." I trailed off as I realized something important. She didn't smell human. She smelled...

"Whoa... I think you are possibly the first person to ever yell at me like that, except from... In any case, I'll ask you again. You any good with burns?" the lady said. She sounded amused at first, then sad, then back to business.

"I am, now what do you want?" I said, and looked at her face. She was slightly shorter than me, had long, black hair and bright red eyes.

"Good, or else I would have no use of you," she answered, ignored my question as she simply walked into my house and sat down in a chair.

"You see, there is this slight possibility that one of your fairies will end up badly burnt in the near future, and I need you to save her," she continued. I stared at her in amazement. Was she a fortuneteller or something? And why me, anyways, they already got..

"The Wind Dragon Slayer would be able to handle that fine, now if you'll excuse.." suddenly the woman was in front of me, her face very near.

"I am not speaking of a little blister caused by touching a kettle of boiling water. I am talking about being covered in third and fourth degree burns. I hate doing this but... it's the only way I can SAVE her," she said, her voice dark and suddenly stricken with pain.

"Wait, YOU will burn this girl?" I asked, and she nodded. My eyes widened at this. Was she mental?

"Say, you ever heard of Beasts?" se then asked. Well, yes, I had. I knew the stories of old, of the monsters created by men in order to kill the dragons. I nodded.

"Yeah, it turns out one was still alive and kickin'. I took care of it, but not before... it got to someone. A fairy, no less. Now, unless I do somehing about it, she will either die from the pain or turn into... unless I DO something abot it," she was angry and sad. I didn't quite get it, but understood after some explanations that the overflowing magic within the body of the Beast somehow got transferred to the victim, and that this slowly would turn the girl into... something, if not entirely a Beast.

"No HUMAN can survive through this, and I only know of ONE cure... If I were to momentarily change her into something MORE than human, the magic would be dispelled," she continued. I nodded, gave a sign for her to continue.

"You see, a human would die from the pain caused by this exessive magic raging through its body, but a Dragon Slayer would access it as its own. It is a huge risk, and there is a possibility that she will die due to the strain I have to put on her body. That's why I need YOU there to heal her if it fails, and then allow me to try again," she said. I nodded.

"Good. I am Vera, and I appreciate your help," she said, and smiled at me, revealing sharp canines.

**FLASHBACK END**

"So, as you can see, the woman wanted to save her, for whatever reason. Saving her by momentarily making her possess the magic of a Dragon Slayer," Porlyusca said, and then went over to the girl that now was covered in bandages and cream, while Wendy sat resting in the corner. Natsu sat by her side, eyes worried and waiting. Waiting for the awakening of his closest friend.

"Will she live?" he said, didn't turn. Didn't move. His voice was dark, and almost... trembling.

"She will," the old lady answered, her tone determent. The girl would live as long as the old healer had a say in the matter, but one had to wonder. What would she BE when she woke up? Would things really stay the same after such a surge of power? Like the woman said in her story, having this kind of magic fused with her body without the proper training would be extremely painful, not to speak of dangerous.

*******_And... Let's end it there, shall we? Another chapter. I had to finish it up in a hurry to keep the confused reviews at bay, even though I'm pretty sure my kidneys are about to kill me. The pain is quite the hassle, and I am considering cunsulting a doctor about it... Oh, well, enough about me and my silly problems. You like? Did you see it coming? If you didn't, then kudos for me! Give me a feedback, throw me a bone or whatever. I'm dying of the suspense here!_

_Well, in any case, this is my shortest chapter yet, I think. Too bad, but it couldn't be helped. Hope you liked it, and see you all soon! ;)_*******


	13. Old Lucy Returns?

*******_I have returned from the dead, eventually. Damn it was hard continuing this, but I managed, somehow. Some might think, "Oh, but Stormfoedt updated the other story...", but I can explain that. In between sleeping for ridiculously long hours I woke up, added commentary to the already written chapters and released them. Yup, I cheated, but since no chapters were finished in this story, I had to wait until I got better before starting this one. That, and the wonders of "survival camp". That would be a.. what you call it? Private joke, kind of? Anyways... Congratz, people, our little heroine is back in the game!_

_I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline. Now, let us go, to the.._*******

***INFIRMARY***

I were laying, not on the ground, but apparently on some sort of soft surface. A bed, perhaps? Had I died? No. I still felt my body being sore, I were still breathing. Then... what happened? The last thing I remembered... despair. Complete and utter despair, as I saw my companions dying around me. And... I remembered using my whip, running around trying to support them. My spirits. Then, as I saw impending death, I did the only thing I could to keep them from the same trail. I mustered most of my remaining power and somehow, the details were a blur, transported them away as I kicked my keys far away. Then there was pain as IT was upon me, ripping, tearing. Then this.

I sat up with a start. My eyes were wide, my breath suddenly ragged though it had been fine just moments before. Where the fuck.. wait. I knew this place. This was the Fairy Tail infirmary.

"Lucy." the voice made me notice the figure sitting at the side of my bed. Natsu. He looked tired, and... almost scared.

"My spirits.. Natsu, where are they..? Are they alright? They are, aren't they, I mean, they're not.."

"Please promise me to never do that again." he suddenly interupted my ranting, his voice firm but lacking the usual spite. Never do what? Risk my life? With him around such promises were useless. I would not make a promise I knew I couldn't keep. There would be no point to such a promise.

"Did you rescue me?" I asked as I looked into his tired eyes. It didn't look like he'd been sleeping for days. Confusion told me he didn't catch my question, until anger flashed upon his features.

"Where are my keys?" I asked again before he could explode in a rant of his own.

"So you remember your keys, child," another voice sounded, and Master came wandering towards me. Remember? That didn't mean... did it?

"Of course. I'm a celestial spirit mage. How could I ever forget about my spirits?" I said, and stared. People were acting strangely. Too strange. Oh god, please. Please no.. I looked around, and then saw that not only my bed was occupied. That meant they were alive, right?

"What's going on, Master? Why are you all so serious... Oh my god, Gildarts... Why does he lay there? Where.. my keys. Where are my keys?" I started panicking again, and in respons Master produced the keychains from within his jacket. They were alive. Tears started rolling down my eyes.

"Thank the gods, they're alive." I said, and he came over to me, handed me the chain so I could check wether or not all the keys were still intact.

"They are alright, Lucy. Still healing, some of them, but alright." he said with a low voice. God, this was confusing. But they were fine. I had never seen them so.. so BEAT UP. I thought.. I feared that Taurus was done for. He was gutted. But if they were fine, then why..? I slowly forced my eyes off the chain, and sent another glance towards Natsu. He was tired, but rather unharmed. Tired, but okay.

"Ah... I take it your mission went alright, then. I guess I failed though.." I said awkwardly, and this made Natsu blink. Once. Twice.

"How long was I out, anyways? And who brought me back?" I looked at my hands. They were bandaged. Most of my body was, though I felt little more than some soreness.

"You don't remember?" Natsu finally found his voice, it would seem. Good.

"Remember what? I were attacked by this girl, and then I guess I blacked out or something. Now I'm here, so obviously SOMEONE brought me back. Was it Gildarts?" I glanced at the bed next to me, where he currently lay unconscious. Then I remembered another important fact.

"Wait.. if I failed my mission. My rent!" I jumped out of the bed, started falling right away. Natsu caught me in time, supporting me in some kind of awkward hug. It felt kind of good, and staying like this might not be so... WHAT THE HELL AM I THINKING?! I pushed him away, gently, and swayed, but kept myself from falling while resting one hand on him for support.

"She's going to kill me," I tried exclaiming, but it came out weak and pathetic. My magic power was completely drained. I fell towards the dragon slayer again, and got a whiff of... something. It, whatever it was, smelled a bit like fire, forest, and...?

"Natsu, are you wearing perfume?" I asked in confusion. THE Natsu wore some kind of fancy brand in order to smell good? Who would have thought...

"No... why the hell would I do that?" he muttered, more true to his old self. I frowned, and moved myself away from him again. Looked up at his face.

"You smell funny," I declared. His eyes widened by the sudden declaration. Then he did an act of smelling himself, before looking back at me.

"I do NOT!" he said while crossing his arms. Well, okay, so not funny, more like... DON'T YOU DARE GO THERE, LUCY! Okay, so he smelled kind of good.

"Do too!" I countered, and then started walking towards the door.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?!" he yelled after me, and I suddenly felt him hold around me, gently as if I would break, yet firm to keep me from escaping.

"You should rest, my child. You are still hurt," Master said, and I sent him a look. Natsu didn't let go as he hugged me from behind. He was warm.

"I want to see the others, and by the gods, Natsu, you are acting weird," and you smell REALLY good... Gah..! All of a sudden I were pressed so hard against my partner as he hugged me tighter.

"Don't you EVER, do that again," He said into my back.

"Do what?" I asked.

"Leave," he whispered. That one word made me feel all better. He believed I ever wanted to leave him?

"'Course not, silly. I'm Lucy of Fairy Tail, remember?" I answered, smiling, though unsecure of the reason behind his sudden show of abandonment issues. I never gave him a reason to doubt my commitment to this place. Slowly I raised my hands to his arms, and gently tugged them.

"Jeez, Natsu, I'm only going downstairs. Come with me, by all means, but you have to let me go," I said, and he let me go. Not quite willingly, but alright. I sent him a glance and he grinned his goofy grin. Good for him that he's cute... I started walking again, slowly gaining my ability to stand properly again. Then, as I neared the door, it flew open and I were hit by two things. The first was a mixture of a hundred different smells, the second a very small but fast dragonslayer named Wendy. We both went to the ground.

"Whoa, oh, sorr... Lucy! You're awake! And I.. I'm so sorry!" she said and got off me with great speed. I sat up.

"It's alright, Wendy, no harm done," I smiled reassuringly. The girl smelled rather peculiar, I might add. Weird perfume day it is, then. Her eyes widened.

"You're right." she mumbled. her hands were raised as if to heal me, and she had noticed, I guessed, the lack of genuine pain. She then proceeded to unwrap my hand. It was completely fine. Alright, who decided to wrap me up like a mummy?

Eventually the rest of my bandages were discarded, and I stood there in kind of loose white dress, with several people staring at me. Among those were a newly awakened Erza and Gildarts, plus Gray that had come up to check on the rest of the Team Natsu. I figured Happy had to be with Charle or something, until he came flying in and colliding with me into a hug.

"Okay, you had your fun," I commented and stared back at the people.

"You're not burned..." came the astonished mumble from the pink-haired idiot.

"Well, obviously," I said. This was making me self conscious.

"Well, I'm hungry," I said, and started heading for the door again.

***THE GUILDHALL***

For one, oh my fucking god this place was reeking. And secondly, I believe Natsu had outdone himself, considering the burnt spots that still lingered untreated scorching half the hall. People stared as I descended the stairs, some smiling, some greeting enthusiastically. I smiled and greeted them back, waved my way down and then found my place at the bar.

"I'm glad you're up, Lucy. Want a strawberryshake?" she asked, and I nodded. She returned shortly after, and Natsu used the opportunity to sit down next to me, looking at me like I would disappear if he looked away even for a mere instant.

"So, what happened here?" I asked the barmaid, and she stopped for a moment.

"Oh dear, did you lose your memories again?" she said, worried. I felt Natsu stiffened, and briefly wondered if it was guilt I could see in his eyes for a moment. Odd, since Natsu rarely regretted his actions.

"Cana, why are you looming behind me?" I suddenly asked, and turned to the drunken girl. Might be weird perfume day, but that smell of booze could be no other.

"You regained your old memories," she stated, and I nodded, though I felt as if I missed something. Had I been down here yesterday?

"Bunnygirl, we need to talk," suddenly Gajeel appeared, smelling like booze and rust. And the same smell as Natsu and Wendy. I smelled different types of alcohol, smoke from the wood, dirt on the floor, blood on different spots, sweat, gunpowder, shampoo, and so many other things.

"Okay," I said, and saw a not very pleased Natsu by my side. He followed when we all headed out of the guild. Cold. I ignored it since the lack of smells made up for the dropping temperature.

"Are you a Dragon Slayer?" He asked bluntly. I stood with my back against the cold, stony wall, and stared at him. Was he retarded or something?

"No.." I began slowly.

"... Im a celestial spirit mage. Remember?" I continued, and saw him twitch.

"I told you," Natsu said stubbornly, and Wendy stood there too all of a sudden.

"I didn't heal her though, that is kind of hard to explain," she added with a thin voice. I blinked. Really?

"Guys..." I mumbled, but the two male dragonslayers kept glaring at each other.

"Wendy. I honestly have no idea how my burns made you come to this conclusion, not to speak of how I got them, or if I got them fro that matter." she stared at me with sudden understanding.

"You used Fire Dragon Slayer magic, Lucy. You almost burned down the guild, something that didn't improve when Natsu went berserk afterwards. You almost died," she said. Shit.

"I should've died. Why the hell did I do something THAT stupid?" I exclaimed, and suddenly I were pinned against the wall.

"You're not going anywhere." Natsu said. He was steaming.

"Calm down, Flamehead. She's not going anywhere, honestly..." Gajeel commented, and lifted the dragonslayer away from me by the collar.

"And you, Bunnygirl, better not run off to somewhere, and no more blabbering about being dead when you're not. And why the fuck aint you laying up there covered in blisters?" he was annoyed, the iron dragon. He practically fumed. And somehow, I still saw his worrying face under his tough exterior.

"I'm staying. I love Fairy Tail after all," I said smiling, and lifted an arm, patted the approaching Natsu on the head.

"Now... I can get Natsu, and coaxing Wendy into joining isn't that hard, but you.." I pointed at Gajeel.

"How the hell did they make YOU part of this?" I asked.

"Part of what?!"

"Gah! Never mind, I'm going home," I walked away, and let the people play their little mindgames.

***THE APARTMENT***

I entered my apartment, followed by Natsu that still refused to let me out of his eyesight.

"What were you talking about earlier?" he asked as he followed me into the kitchen where I prepared some tea. He had tailed me like a silent dog all the way back, and I briefly wondered if this was what he would have done all those years back to avoid Lisanna's death. She didn't die as it turned out, but this might be some kind of precaution.

"Don't play dumb with me, Natsu," I said as I continued into the livingroom.

"I'm not," he claimed. I stopped, almost made him collide with me.

"Your smell, that's what's up."

"That again?"

"You smell funny,"

"Am not. What d'you suppose I smell like, then?" he crossed his arms. I felt myself blush, and I looked away.

"Never mind, the tea is ready," I turned around and headed for the kitchen. Fine, be that way.

"Aww... Luce! Tell me," He whined, and I had to smile. Now that was more like him.

"Here's your tea," we went to the livingroom and sat down. We sat in silence for a while, me sipping my tea and him gulping it down. My fucking god, he smelled nice. He smelled like...

"Home.." I mumbled, and put my empty cup down.

"What?" he asked, and I closed my eyes. Leaned closer. So tired...

"Luce?" my eyes snapped open, and I sat up straight. Blinked. Damn. Enough.

"Whoa... I think it's time for bed. I'm going to the bathroom. See you tomorrow," I headed for th bathroom, and once inside I washed my face in cold water. What the fuck is going on!?

When I entered the bedroom I knew he hadn't left yet. Nope, I could see his shadow looming at the end of the bed.

"You know, Natsu. This isn't like with Lisanna. I'm not going anywhere," I said as I neared the bed, sat down. Normally I would've tossed him head first out that window, but he seemed more serious than normal.

"How do you know? She didn't." he replied, his voice sulking. I sighed.

"You worry too much," I mumbled and sat next to him. He stiffened. I smiled and leaned against him.

"Sorry for worrying you," I said, and he sighed.

"Fine, if you promise to never do it again," he said. Promises, promises.

"I might, if you spill what perfume you're using," I said, tried pressuring him into telling me why everyone were playing trick the newbie.

"Already told you I'm not wearing any. Why do you keep insisting on that?"

"Well, I can SMELL you." I said. There. I admitted it.

"I'm not sure what kind of game this is, but I'm..."

"Wait, you can smell me? Only me?"

"NO..." of all things, all of a sudden I lay on the mattress, Natsu on top of me.

"What else?" he demanded to know. I blinked.

"Nothing else." he got off at that.

"What is going on?" I asked, didn't move.

"Porlyusca said you might experience.. changes after using Dragon Slayer magic," he said. I still didn't get how the hell I managed such a stunt. And of course, WHY?

"What does that have to do with your perfume?"

"You're not smelling perfume, Luce. You're smelling ME." he explained. Shit, that meant the smell wouldn't go away.

"Hm." I answered, and crawled under the duna, closed my eyes.

"So you were asking wether or not my eyes and ears were working better than usual, huh..." then I chose to stop talking. I silently thanked whatever god out there for using Fire magic, of all things, when I chose to do such a thing in the first place. Slowly I drifted off to sleep, feeling very safe with the smell of my protector drifting through the entire room.

*******_Now, what to write next... Tell me you love it, hate it, or come with ideas for continuations! ;) Give me SOMETHING guys, 'cause I swear, this writers block is going to kill something soon. Yes, that would be my Muse again. For the love off ALL things, Lucy does NOT need to... yikes! Can't even write it down. Oh well, I'm doing my best here, so I hope you liked it! :)_*******


	14. Are you mine?

*******_Hello, my dearest readers. I haven't given out any chapters since... October, wasn't it? I hope you haven't given up on me completely, for here I am again, giving you the continuation to my first ever fanfiction. Oh, the memories of when this all started... This is the third version once again of the same chapter, and not even the longest one. Took me forever, but it is done, FINALLY! :D_

_I do not own Fairy Tail, nor is characters or its storyline. I would've been stoned (as in killed by stones, not smoking weed ;D) by now for leaving you for so long if I had. Oh well, enough ranting and on with the story!_*******

Mama is sick. Very sick. She doesn't even have the strength to leave her bed today, neither has she been able to these last few days. She still smiles though, still read books for me. She taught me how to read, and how to love books. Books are like fairy tales, where everything can end up happily ever after.

"Do you want to be a wizard, Lucy?" she asks, smiles her happy smile. She is very pale, but her smile is warm still.

"Papa doesn't want me to," I answer in my childish voice. I am a child, her child. I am supposed to be unaware of what is happening to her, though I know it too well. She doesn't have much time left.

"I'm not asking what Papa wants, dear, I'm asking you what YOU want," she counters, and touch my nose with one of her thin, pale fingers. I smile broadly.

"I want to be a mage! I want to go on adventures, and find treasures, and get friends and live happily ever after!" I yell, and she laughs. I like it when she does that. It lights up her face, make her seem more alive.

"I like that spirit of yours, Lucky Lucy. I used to be a mage once, did you know that? What do you say about becoming a Celestial Spirit just like me?" I cheer at that, and then she gives me a few keys. I take them, and then stares at her when she starts coughing.

"You tired, Mama?" I ask, and she nods.

"Let us rest, some, eh? And later, I'll teach you how to make contracts with the Spirits," I nod, and nestle down next to her. I can sense it, the darkness sucking away her life. The darkness that will keep her from ever waking up again. I know. Yet I still snuggle against her, allow her to place her arm around me, hugging me tightly against her. I still close my eyes, and allow sleep to come. That is what she wants, after all. She wants me to believe in her lies. Papa wants me to believe in his lies as well. That is the world of adulthood. Lies.

When I wake up, her body is cool, or at least cooler than usual. I sit up, and see a figure standing by the bed.

"Why didn't you return to your bed, little girl?" he says calmly, and I give him a glare.

I'm no longer in a bed. Instead I am in a dark room, chained to the wall by a chain around my neck. Men with shadowed faces are looking at me, one standing out more than the others.

"Die..." I growl, staring at him with pure hatred, and I can see him smile. Laugh, even. I feel an electric jolt running through my body, but I maintain my stare.

"Ah, the girl has grown accustomed to this level. Good, she is far better off than the others. Level it up, will you?"

"But sir, she's only.."

"Do it." the next surge make me collapse on the ground, writhing, but no sound escapes me. I will NOT.. scream

"Again." writhing.

"More." writhing. Stronger. Die.

"Let." I manage through clenched teeth between attacks.

"Me." the attacks stop, and I look up to see the man with a hand raised, signalling pause. Not stop. Never stop. Pause.

"Tell me, girl. I am pleased to see you being able to form words, albeit only short ones. What do you wish to tell me?"

"Let. Me. Die." I manage to press out in one go, and I sit up to look at the man I have learned to hate. He smiles broadly. I bow my head low, to the ground, my black hair falling down in front of me.

"Please." I add. They like pretty words.

"I am afraid I cannot do that, little girl. I am afraid.. LUCY!"

The last word didn't belong to him, and I opened my eyes wide to see a furious Natsu sitting on top of me.

"Wha..?" I managed to press out, confused by the weird dream and the sudden awakening. Then I realized that Natsu was sitting on top of me. In my bedroom. In my bed. Happy couldn't be seen anywhere.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" I yelled, but he didn't catch my tone.

"Don't you even THINK about IT!" he seethed, his eyes dark and dangerous. I had to sigh. By the gods was he short on temper lately.

"It was a NIGHTMARE! AS IN A BAD DREAM! NOW MOVE OR I SWEAR..!" and then, suddenly, he collapsed on top of me and started to snore. You're kidding me. And in such a compromising position. His face was laying on top of mine, I had just managed to avoid kissing the guy by moving my face to the side. I groaned and managed to somehow push him off so he lay beside me. What was it with people lately? Natsu is being all jumpy, I almost committed suicide, and Gajeel asked me wether I were a freaking Dragon Slayer.

Speaking of suicidal attempts, what was that dream about? I could've passed it on as a nightmare, only it seemed so real. And black hair. I didn't have black hair. I'm a BLONDE, for crying out loud.

"What's up with everyone?" I mumbled, and looked at my best friend. He wrinkled his nose ever so slightly, and I smiled.

"You're even more annoying than usual, you know that? Oh well, I don't think I'll be sleeping again, so I might as well write a letter to Mom..." I continued and sat up. I sighed. It would be a while until the sun rose, even longer until this idiot woke up. I caught myself staring at him again. This whole place reeked of him, possibly more than my own smell, though apparently picking upp my own scent would be more difficult than picking up others so I might be wrong. Made sense. Kind of. I snuck out of the bed and covered Natsu with the duna before heading over to my workbench where I put on the light. What to write...

Dear Mom

I guess it's been a while, huh? I'm don't know all of the details, but I went on this mission and apparently lost my memories. I have a scar on the side of my face I don't remember getting, though I can imagine the Thing doing that. And I dreamt about you, though I'm pretty sure you didn't die that way. Only you will know for certain, and you can't give me any answers. And.. I think I dreamt about the void...

"Hmmm... Luce..?" I got interrupted from writing my letter, and turned around.

"Luce? Lucy!" he sat up suddenly, and I waved at him as he spotted me at my desk. He fell back onto the bed.

"Did I wake you?" I got up and turned off the lights again, then returned to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Just a bad dream," he grumbled, and I chuckled.

"I noticed, you were yelling quite loudly,"

"I were? Sorry.." I crawled back into bed and layed next to him, my face turned towards him.

"So tell me, what were you dreaming about?" I asked. Silence.

"Okay... then who saved my sorry ass from those guys?" Silence yet again. He only stared without looking away. I sighed.

"Suit yourself, I guess I'll remember eventually. Thanks for watching over me while I were... I don't know, confused. Hope I weren't too much of a.." he reached out to me and pressed me against him in a hug while we both remained laying on the bed.

"..hassle," I finished.

"Do you mind if we stay like this for a while?" he finally spoke, his voice kind of rough. And pleading.

"Hm? No. Thanks for watching over me," I mumbled into the crook of his neck. He answered by hugging me closer, before letting go enough in order to move his face on top of my head. I felt his hot breath, and he sighed in content. At least I believed it to be content.

"You fell asleep again, didn't you?" I muttered after a while. Figured.

"Almost... is it too warm? I can move away.."

"No, it's fine." I smiled.

"You keep the darkness away," I didn't know why I said that, seeing it had been years since I feared the monster under my bed and whatnot. It felt like truth, though. Kind of. Really, when I woke up I didn't think I'd fall asleep again so soon, but once more I felt myself slipping. It felt safe. So very safe...

"Luce? You awake?"

"Hm." I hummed. A few moments more and I would've been off to dreamland.

"We're partners, right?"

"Yeah, 'course we are. Why?" where was he going with this. Of course we were partners. Had been partners since forever.

"And you're mine," he continued. A weird way of putting it, but fair enough. Natsu had his ways of putting things into words. If Gray ever asked me if I were his it would surely mean something else... Most likely it would earn him a kick to the head as well.

"Sure."

"I mean..."

"I've been meaning to ask, but did you and Lisanna manage to catch up?" okay, I were distracting the boy from his fumblingg words, but could you blame me? I were genuinely curious, especially considering the things I had heard about them from when they were younger. Getting married, huh... I smiled.

"Hm? Yeah, why?"

"Why do you think I made you go on that month long mission in the first place? You looked like a lost puppy running between me and Lisanna, wanting to catch up but afraid I'd be insulted or something." like, really. I understood the fact that he wanted to spend some quality time with a close friend he thought he lost. If I ever experienced the same Natsu would do the same, wouldn't he? Most likely. ANd to top it off, this was a girl that probably was his first love. Jeez, could this boy get any denser?

"Oh..." and, he hadn't gotten it. Still didn't, it would seem.

"Well, we caught up. She probably won't be attending more missions with Team Natsu though. Too risky, she said. She didn't get how you managed to keep sane," he continued. Sometimes I wondered about the same. Wait, I had been mentioned? Why would I... Oh, I guess Natsu would've told her about our recent missions.

"Ah, and here I looked forward to having some real girl to girl conversations on our next mission," I teased. Honestly, since realizing I probably would die, I had given that idea some thoughts, funnily enough. The fact that I might never know my best friends future girlfriend... It felt sad.

"You could always talk to Erza," Natsu suggested, dragging me out of my stupor.

"Yeah, talking boys and make-up with her would be just perfect," I honestly had nothing against Erza, but her definitions on some aspects of what I would call a girls life... Armour, fights and honor. She was more like a prince charming rather than the princess in a fairy tale. She had also come to my rescue several times. Ah, the memories.

"You know you're mine, right?" he asked. And.. we were back to what he was about to say earlier. What was his point? I decided to wait for an explanation instead of waving it off this time. There had to be something behind this sudden talk about ownership. I already knew that he somewhat considered me his for being his partner. Was this like that, perhaps?

"On our mission, Lisanna said that if you were mine, like TRULY mine, then you would never leave my side," I should've figured. Aw, Lisanna... you taught the idiot something weird. He wouldn't let this go. I sighed.

"We're partners, Natsu, what is all this talk about me leaving you? I'm right here, and believe me when I say I won't go on any solo missions again anytime soon," or ever, depending on the circumstances. Natsu moved so his face was right in front of me, our foreheads touching. The moon shone in through the window,, showing me a face that was serious. Not angry, but not joking around either.

"You are mine, aren't you?" he asked again. I felt his hot breath on my face, and blinked.

"If it makes you feel any better, then sure," I replied. Mental note to self, I need to talk to Lisanna regarding filling the head of a certain someone with weird ideas. Natsu grinned then, that same old grin of his. Now when I thought about it, he hadn't grinned throughout the day. Good. Things might be going back to normal soon. They needed to, or at least I would have to be filled in on what happened. How long had it been since I returned. What had I been doing other than almost killing myself using Fire magic that no human without the right training should be even attempting to use? And what happened to my client? I did manage to evacuate her.. I think, but what happened after I lost consciousness I didn't know. They might've gone for her next. Vera D. Homura, a woman bearing the name of one of the ancient ones, only mentioned in old, musty books. I guess I lost my chance there.

"Good," Natsu mumbled, and I had to think back a bit to understand what was good. Oh, the fact that I were his. He hadn't moved, but his eyes were closed his arms still surrounding me. Protecting me. I smiled, and let him be as I closed my eyes. I guess Lisanna would be better at explaining things to me than this guy. I hadn't seen her at the guild, but I doubted she would be far off since I saw both her siblings without them seeming worried. In the morrow, then. In the morrow.

*******_I had you wait for the longest time, I know, but finally I mustered enough inspiration to finally write this. I feared for the longest time that this might be the ending chapter, seeing how everything kind of got sorted out. You know, the drama and then the return of Lucys memories. And I have to say, I were fawning over this cute moment. Now ehat could Natsu possibly mean with Lucy being his? (*wink*). I might finally be over the worst part of my writers block by now, since this chapters got a few pointers for me to continue on ;)_

_Do you love it? Hate it? Did I disappoint you after leaving you all hanging for a good 2 months or so? I apologize for that, and promise to try avoiding such long waits in the future. Keyword is TRY. Anyways, hopefully I will see you once more soon :)_*******


	15. Hot Days and Kidnappings

***_Has it been a while or what? I think... my gosh, it has ben AGES. Oh well, this is story number 2 to be updated tonight. One to go. Since I now have finished my main stories I hope to be done with the third in a jiffy. Probably won't be too hard._

_I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its charact ers or its storyline. That would cause w ay too much inconsistency. Think about i t, Fairy Tail every third month only. I would personally DIE. Oh well, on to the story!_***

Warm. Not as in, I-forgot-opening-the-window-so-now-it's- all-stuffy warm. No. More like I-turned-the-oven-on-full-power-and-proc eeded-to-bring-the-darn-thing-with-me-in to-bed warm. Yes. An oven. In this case an oven named Natsu Dragneel. Oh , I remembered it even through the grogginess of waking up. The fact that I had my face pressed onto his bare, and might I mention VERY WARM, chest didn' t make it any easier to forget.

"Natsu... Let ME GO!" my indignated yell lost most of its sting as it muffled against him, and the idiot groaned, and I felt the hand he had around my waist tighten. I might kill him. I might FUCKING KILL HI.. suddenly he shifted in bed and found himself on top of me, and before I managed to process the gravity of the position we now found ourselves in, he leaned in and kissed me. Not a friendly kiss. Not a tiny little peck. No, a full blown, steaming hot kiss that clearly indicated where this was going. No, this couldn't be happening. Too damn soon, damn it. What about first date?! What about holding hands? What about..

I opened my eyes, my mind going into full overload mode, complete with visions of pinkhaired babies and wedding dresses. Good gracious. What met me was a pair of dark eyes looking at me curiously. It was a dream. Just a DREAM. Oh, my poor poor heart. I groaned and closed my eyes again. Just fall asleep again, and we can start over again, without THAT thought lingering in my head.

"Luce?" was it just me, or was it getting warmer? Perhaps just his breath that blew on my face when he opened his mouth to talk.

"Hm?" I grunted in reply, opened an eye to look at his face. He didn't reply, merely looked at me with the same, curious eyes.

"What?" I finally asked.

"How are you feeling today?" he asked. Clearly not his intended question, but okay. I could go with that.

"Right now I'm very, very warm, and I'm fine. Why?" I replied, closed my eyes again. What was that smell? Oh yeah, the essence of the boy laying next to me. A really nice.. AND... time to get up. I yawned loudly as I sat up feeling a severe case of morning hair coming my way. It felt like one of those days when everything would go in unexpected directions. I looked down, and saw, surprisingly enough, Natsus hand still on my waist even though I technically had broken free from his embrace now. It's too early for this shit... I chose to ignore it for now while I stretched my upper body and went through a mental run of what I needed to do next. Then I got up, staggered over to the closet, stared aimlessly at it for a few moments before I decided to find clothes AFTER the rest of my morning routine.

My hair was indeed a mess, though I hardly got how considering how little I would've been able to move last night. After dealing with it and other issues belonging to my morning routine I left the bathroom to resume my task to find something to wear.

That was when I noticed the object on the coffee table. A small box. I didn't remember putting a box of matches on the table, neither did I recall having one looking like that in the first place. Small stars glued to it along with glitter, as if made by a small child. Now, what was that thing doing there? I lifted the box carefully, opened it only to find it stocked with matches and a little , folded note.

Let this be the extent of your magic tricks from now on, okay? -Vera

Her signature was barely readable, and her name ended with a small drawing of a dragon, complete with artistically drawn fire coming out from its jaws.

"What is that?" the boy that at some point had escaped the bed and made his way over asked while staring at the little box.

"Matches. I think it's supposed to be a joke..." it would seem Vera still had that terrible sense of humour. The jokes she had been cracking during our early journey. Like that one time, when...

* * *

"Maybe I'll snatch you away again, kiddo ," the woman in black laughed, and I felt a tiny bit uncomfortable with the statement, since she indeed had attempted to snatch me away once, a long time ago .

"Ah, calm down, I'm kidding, that guild of yours seems like a nice place compared to that prison you used to live in," it had been a while since anyone had called that place a prison. Personally I had long since come to terms with that part of my past. It had eventually led me to where I were today, so I could hardly feel too bad about it.

"You still have your ways..." I smiled at her as we wandered in silence for a while, the creepy dude following behind us. I didn't know him, but he had insisted on joining us shortly after we arrived into this eerie forest where I would see a lot of this woman that was nothing like she said she was on the mission summary. A traveling noblewoman in need of protection and company my ass. She hardly liked company, and protection... The woman was barking mad, making it undesirable to kidnap her, not to mention her obvious skill when it came to magic. She was a mage like no other I had ever met, maybe perhaps except..

* * *

"Someone you know?"

"And old friend, you might say, from way before... I guess she wanted to tell me she's still up and kicking. She really must be something..." I escaped my flashback just to fall into a new set of musings. What a strange being she was.

"Who?" he asked and took my box from me, studied it with a certain amount of curiosity.

"You probably don't know her. Neither do I, for that matter," considering how little she ever told about herself. A first class liar, Vera, though some of her stories did have facts I would very much like to know more about. Like her teacher. And some family background. She had to get it from SOMEWHERE after all. The names. The dates. The general information. Argh, too much to think about! Fine, I' d worry about that later...

"Luce?"

"Huh?"

"You spaced out there for a second, here you go," he handed me the small box, and I put it on the table again before heading for the closet again, looking for clothing. I needed to go to the library again, seeing how Vera at the moment wasn't available.

"Hurry up, I'm hungry and there's no food here!"

"Yeah yeah, go ahead, I'll be right there. I just need to find something to wear..."

"Why?"

"Natsu..." and with that he got himself a one way ticket out the window before I finally, without any more interruptions, could turn my full attention to the closet in front of me.

* * *

It was a bad sign when he actually stood outside waiting for me instead of running ahead to get his much needed meal. How close to dying had I been? Other than that though, he acted pretty normal, walking by my side with his hands behind his head, complaining about how hungry he was while I balanced on the edge of the river.

"Watch your step, lady!" the usual call came from the fishermen in the boat, and I turned to smile at them, give my usual reply. It was as if the whole world got kind of distorted, things moving out of their usual places. My vision zoomed in on a man on the other side of the river, a man wearing a dark coat and smiling a wicked smile. *Let me die*. The words from that dream appeared as if from nowhere. *Please*. They like pretty words.

"LUCY!" my head hit ice cold water, and somewhere deep within me I realized that I had done what the fishermen had warned me about so many times and fallen into the river. It felt peaceful. Why wasn't I attempting to swim? The world kept distorting around me, making everything surreal, even though the water I swallowed when I attempted to breathe felt real enough. Okay, so breathing might not be such a good idea right now. Swim, damn it all, SWIM!

"Come on, Luce, BREATHE..." I spat out a good mouthful of water and gulped in some mighty enjoyable air. I found myself laying on the ground, a soaking wet Natsu leaning over me. I'm confused. What just happened? Natsu finally breathed out himself when he saw me doing the same , sighing loudly.

"Jeez, don't scare me like that... Come on, up with you. Can you stand?" he helped me up without waiting for an answer, and the question was answered without words. Yes, yes I could stand. How strange was that whole ordeal though?

"Come on, let's get you back to the guild..." slowly we started on our way to the guild, me being led while being kind of absentminded. I understood little. Answers would be nice, but once more only o ne person I knew would have them. And she despised people. And I would hardly be left alone any time soon...

* * *

"It isn't dangerous, boy. Her body is merely suffering from magical exhaustion, intensified since the magic used didn't resemble her magic at all. Now scram!" and with that Porlyusca slammed the door in the face of Me, Natsu, Gray, Happy and Erza. Yes, Erza would be the one insisting on going here, and no one had gone against her will since.. well.. one didn't go against her will.

"That's good then, right?" I tried pacifying my friends, and everyone turned to me. Somehow it made me feel like the bad guy for saying it.

"What!? She's basically saying my body has stretched a few magic muscles it didn't know it had. Kind of like when Natsu ate Etherion. I'll be.." *Ah, the girl has grown accustomed to this level. Good, she is far better off than the others. Level it up, will you?*. My whole body stiffened as it prepared itself for the shock. *Let me die*. *Please*. They like pretty words. *Please*.

"Lucy..?" Erza neared me.

"Don't.." she grasped my shoulder, and moments later she was sent flying as the electric surge got amplified due to her armor and basically fried her. Or it would have, had she been most other peopl e than Erza Scarlet.

"..touch me..." I ended as two boys and one blue cat stared at me with shock etched upon their faces.

"Erza! You alright?" I yelled, and the girl in question sat up, her hair all frizzy, something not one of us would ever mention as we agreed silently with a shared look. The red afro might go back to normal before anyone else noticed anything. Perhaps. The first to comment on it might die. Or I might die for being the one that initially caused it.

"'M fine..." she muttered and staggered to her feet. She didn't seem all that good from what I saw, but then again the Titania was a stubborn one. She would manage, I didn't doubt that.

"How did you do that?" Gray asked and looked utterly shocked, not without reason. The very fact that I of ALL people out there managed to send Erza flying was an accomplishment, even if her defenses had been turned off at the time. ANYONE sending that woman flying HAD to be strong. Stronger than me in any case.

"I swear, I am as surprised as you a.." the distinct feeling of having every ounce of magical power sucked out of me overcame me then, causing my knees to give in on me.

"Now that's my girl, alright!" a voice resounded, and I struggled to turn my head where I lay to see Vera D. Homura standing a few meters from us, grinning widely.

"I'd expect nothing less from you, little one. Now now, brat, no misbehavin' in my presence, eh? Thought we agreed on that already," Natsu had lost his cool almost immediately and flung himself at my former client with both his fists alight. She merely lifted her hand and struck him as he was right next to her, sending him to the ground with such force a small crater formed around his now unmoving body. Next she grabbed the approaching sword of Titania and sent both girl and weapons flying through several trees and into the woods.

"Now now, Ice-boy, I have no time to play today, unlike last time I paid you all a visit. No stories either. Sorry 'bout that," she suddenly disappeared from the place she had been standing moments before, and stood in front of Gray instead, smiled a mischievous grin before sending him flying in the same direction as Erza. Then she squatted next to me, turned me over to my back. I could see the had lost her cape today, merely wearing that black singlet, the black jeans and that belt with the silver dragonhead.

"Remember when I joked about snatching you away again, kiddo? Well, there's been a minor change of plans. What you say, Dragon boy? 'M goin' to borrow your friend for a bit. No worries, I'll give 'er back, eventually," she turned to look at a bloodied Natsu Dragneel that hardly remained able to stand, before the woman grabbed hold of me and the surroundings became a blur. I might get a few of my answers after all.

***_And here we are, hanging about by this cliff.. merely hanging on by a finger or three. Yes, another cliffhanger, but at least this isn't a possible ending chapter, and we all know what that means, peoples! Yes, there shall be others, unless my Muse decides to kill someone. Who knows what she's up to..._***


	16. Playing with Fire and Lightning

***_Ever wondered where I got my inspiration from? I know I do. Since the answer never seems to be staying at one spot though, the story twists and turns in a lot of weird directions, making it difficult to keep the main form intact. Did you know, during the initial stage Lucy merely got attacked by feral dogs at the mansion and simply refused to share the experience with anyone, and now look where we ended up!_

_Either ways, I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline. I merely hold the means to create this particular story, and I'm LOVING it. Now, FORWARD, my readers, to the world where Fairies have wings!_***

"Oi, kiddo! Wake up!" I opened my eyes, and saw that I currently lay on the forest floor, Vera leaning against a treetrunk next to me. I sat up, felt kind of lightheaded, but otherwise okay.

"Where are we?" I muttered when I saw the pale sun above us. It made me groan.

"PLEASE tell me we're not.."

"We're not in that forest you are thinking off, no. Your eyes are merely a bit sensitive to the light, so it looks kind of similar. Naw, just kiddin', we're there, alright, in the forest without time. Even got you a playmate," she grinned, and I then heard loud cursing that felt somewhat familiar.

"I swear, when I get loose from this thing I am going to fry you alive, you bitch!" I looked in the direction the voice came from, and guess who found himself tied to a tree-trunk with what I could only assume to be magic-restricting rope.

"Laxus?" what on earth was HE of all people doing here?

"You know him? That's good then, then I don't have to force him into introducing himself in a polite manner," Vera smiled and went over to him, lightly stroking his cheek. She really did like taunting people, especially people with short tempers. Like, let's say, Laxus. He was the perfect victim, and he instantly fell into her trap.

"Let me go, I dare you, and see what you can FORCE me to do," he said, and she laughed loudly, patted him on the nose.

"Not yet, boy, not yet. And I CAN force you, considering I got you tied to that tree in the first place," she then wandered over to my side again, helped me up.

"While I was SLEEPING!" Luxus Dreyar yelled in indignation, at the moment completely ignored by his captor.

"Now, little one, let's go for a walk, shall we? I'll tell you all about my plans regarding that rude fellow over there later!"

* * *

"I hear you have a lot of questions. Is it regarding my stories back then?" we sat by a river, its clear water flowing silently by us, going by like it probably had since long ago. The sun was shining at the moment, but I saw looming clouds building up in the distance. It wouldn't be pretty when those clouds came upon us, and I had a feeling they would. Soon. I also had a sinking feeling that the clouds were part of some grand scheme of this woman. But that would be later. Now, questions.

"Not so many, really, depending on your answers. Its about someone you claimed to know back then. I didn't recognize the name at the time, but..." I stopped and she grinned, then suddenly grew kind of distant, staring at the water. Vera had her deep moments, even though she often liked joking around and messing things up for the people around her. She got bored, as she claimed every time she did some prank that always went out of hand at some point.

"You want to know 'bout Igneel, huh? That scarfed boy is his son, alright. No doubt 'bout that. Can't tell you much though, little one. He's been M.I.A. for a good while now. Missing in action. Not dead though. I can tell you that. Dragons don't die very easily..." her eyes grew even more distant, as if remembering something from long ago.

"Then how do you know him?" I had quite a few questions regarding this matter. Just telling Natsu his father was alive didn't feel like sufficient data from a person that claimed to..

"Foster brother, already told ya. Man, never thought the brat would grow up and take in a kid for himself. Way too fiery, too impulsive and too bratty. Aah, they grow up so fast, don't they? You too, little one. Not so little anymore, yet so young," she ruffled my hair, smiling motherly now rather than that impish grin. Her eyes still seemed a tad distant though.

"And free. Didn't even need to snatch you from that father of yours," she continued. Free, huh. A relative term, that, considering my current position as a possible hostage.

"Vera?"

"Hm?"

"What happened to you?" she looked at me for the longest of moments, her eyes eyeing me with an odd expression upon them. I always wondered what made the woman what she was. So strong. So hostile. So.. alone.

"I think a more proper question would be what happened to us. Of course, during my time they hardly possessed the means to erase memories. Apparently that changed, along with other things. That is why I despise humans. Sure, dragons have their gruesome ways as well, ripping you apart limb for limb, but at least people would die rather quickly."

"Who ARE you?" and back to that same, basic question, a question I never really got the answer to.

"Vera D. Homura. Already told you that, little Lucy. You still remember THAT part of your childhood, right? That's not part of the void?"

"How do you.."

"I know many things, being old allows that. Okay, you want answers, eh? Tell your scarfed friend this. Pride is for wimps, guts for champs. If my brother remains the same, his son will know. Now, I want to play a game. If you don't wanna, then tough, you've got no saying. Neither does your playmate, that rude boy. Come on, we need to check up on him," she got up and helped me up myself. What was going on? I sure had no idea. But Vera wanted to play a game. That never DID bode well, did it...

"Hey, Vera, one more thing."

"Shoot."

"What did you mean when you said 'what happened to us'?" I asked, and she stopped to give me a kind of sad smirk. Did such a thing even exist?

"Let's put it this way, that man that strutted 'bout calling 'mself your father had his reasons for not wantin' you to take up magehood."

"He approved in the end though," I recalled that meeting just after he lost everything, money, wealth and reputation.

"Whatever blows your hair back, little one. My guess is he just regarded the cat out of the bag. That, and he realized that making you a housewife would be like making a dragon a house pet..."

"What is THAT supposed to mean?" I asked in indignation while we moved through the vegetation on our way back to the captive.

"You're a fighter, Little Lucy, not a rice-cooker. Now, time for some good ol' fun!" and as such we emerged to the small clearing with a glaring Laxus awaiting us.

* * *

"Okay, so there's this storm coming in. A very rare storm I might add, since it actually will make it into this forest. I have bound you two together since you're s'posed to survive TOGETHER, you hear me. Yes, I'm referring to you, rude boy. I'm going to have fun correcting that behavior of yours," I found myself bound by the wrist to a still immobilized Laxus that was growing more annoyed by the second.

"Now, on the count to three I'm going to leave the two of you here to learn a thing or two 'bout livin' in the wild. 3..2..1..GO!" and with that she was gone, and so was the rope tying the Dragon Slayer to the tree. The rope keeping the two of us bound together, however... it remained, and it had already started drizzling while the sky became darker.

"Who was that?" the boy asked as he tried detaching the rope, to no avail. Of course it wouldn't work. Vera wouldn't have used a rope that simply could've been ripped apart using normal, normal being a relative word with ALL Dragon Slayers, strength.

"A woman that has attempted to kidnap me before."

"Attempted?"

"Well, she seemingly succeeded this time."

"You're kidding, right?" he raised an eyebrow towards me, and I smiled in exasperation. I think we both knew the answer to that without me needing to put it into words.

"And, you're not kidding... Why the hell did she tie us together?" he then asked, his face sort of none caring, though I could sense curiosity there. A stubborn youth that rebelled against his grandfather, that was all he was. Both of them hated to lose, after all.

"I believe she used the word lightning rod." he groaned and once more waited a second or two for the revelation of the statement as a joke, which of course, it wasn't. Not with her.

"Great. Fucking great. A crazy woman has kidnapped me and tied me to a bloody Fairy, and I have now become a lightning rod. I will FRY her the next time she appears!"

"Relax, she was right, you know. She only got you in your sleep to make an example. I think.. she might just've been bored. Point is she could've just as well handed your ass to you while you were awake. Now however, it is cold, so unless you like wandering about in the rain I suggest we find a cave somewhere until the rain holds up."

"A cave, you say?! A CAVE?! We're in the middle of a forest with NO MOUNTAINS, where the FUCK can we find a freaking CAVE!?" and his rant continued, though he started walking next to me, looking about for some kind of shelter while the rain kept falling, slowly increasing in strength.

* * *

***MEANWHILE, IN A CERTAIN TOWN WE ALL KNOW THE NAME OF***

"What is the meaning of this?" Master asked as he stared at his three beaten up children named Erza, Gray and Natsu.

"That woman was here again. She took Lucy, and I.. we couldn't stop her," the Scarlet mage was taking her loss heavily, as was her way, and Happy was no better off. He had been thoroughly ignored by the woman, and now lay on top of his fathers head with his ears hanging down. Gray stood with his arms crossed, his shirt mysteriously gone while staring into the air, annoyance written all over him. Natsu on his side seemed livid. That SAME woman had dared approaching a member of his family AGAIN, and taken her away after damaging several others. Would she ever stop MOCKING them?

"No worries, little kiddies, no harm will come upon her. I even took the liberty to give the kid a playmate. She'll be 'right. Mostly." speak of the devil, and it shall appear. There she was, the very woman all their problems came back to at the moment.

"You..." the Ice mage said with a dangerous glint in his eyes, and the moment after a scorching hot Dragons Roar was sent in her direction. She had told them Fire was her weakness before, hadn't she? Then a strange, yet familiar sound could be heard as the woman clad in black ate the fire sent at her. Then.. she was gone, reappeared next to the culprit, smiling while licking her lips.

"What would you say, eh? Oh yeah, _thank you for the meal..._You wish to know where she is, eh? yes or no?"

"Where IS she?" the boy with the scarf asked through clenched teeth, preparing for another assault but holding back in anticipation of her reply.

"Careful what you wish for, kid..." she whispered into his ears.

"I'll be borrowing this kid for a while, eh? See ya!" and then she was gone, Natsu Dragneel was gone with her.

* * *

"You just HAD to ask, didn't you..." a very annoyed Lightning Dragon Slayer commented, his voice dripping with sarcasm. The three of us, meaning me, tied to Laxus on one side and Natsu on the other, sat beneath a large tree, drops of water dripping all around us.

"Shut up, Laxus, or I'm going to..." he got interrupted when the older youth zapped him with a strong beam of lightning efficiently knocking the Fire Dragonslayer out.

"And you. Girl. What the hell is up with THAT. Aren't you a Celestial mage or something?" he proceeded to ask, making me cringe ever so slightly.

"What's up with WHAT? Yes, I'm a Celestial Spirit mage, though my keys are back in Magnolia at the moment..." not that I could use my keys at the moment anyways with my magic power being so fluctuant.

"You've been zapping me regularly with lightning for HOURS now."

"Well, EXCUSE me, I can't control it, okay.."

"And why am I stuck here anyways, I'm not a Fairy Tail mage. Why am I forced to be part of this freak-show?"

"Two reasons. One, you messed with the wrong woman, two.."

"Don't say it, just.."

"Lightning rod," both I and Natsu said in unison. the fried boy grinned widely. When he had woken up was a mystery.

"Sucks to be you," he continued.

"Shut up." Laxus answered and zapped the scarfed boy again. Then he sighed loudly.

"I need to pee..." I muttered silently, and the young man suddenly stared at me, then groaned, started muttering questions to some higher power regarding why him as he got up, hoisted an unconscious Natsu over his shoulder and started walking.

***_Then suddenly, a wild Laxus appears. Now where the heck did HE of all people come from, and WHY? You'll have to ask my Muse about that, and she might show you that pretty middle finger of hers. She does that, from time to time. That, and the occasional murder of innocent characters. Thankfully I have gotten better at resuscitation by now, so it usually ends good, but never the less. On to the next chapter!_***


	17. Champagne and Magic Tricks

***_I did consider giving this out later, you know, being all reliable and only post things once a week. That is rather dull, however, so I'll post it today instead. You'll just have to live with my absence if I happen to meet a wall with writers block written all over it in the near future. Until then, rejoice for the return of the daily update! Now behold this great scheme I have created for you all, and if you find it worth the time a review might be nice as well!_

_I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline. This plot I'd like to claim as my own though, together with the existence of Vera. Damn, what am I to do now when the real deal has gone and cancelled the anime? Guess it's time to finally sit down and read the mange, huh... On to the story!_***

***IN THE FOREST WITHOUT TIME***

"Oi, you better be careful with her, or I will KICK.."

"Shut up, Flamebrain, the girl's sleeping. Besides, even if I tried frying her, I don't think it'd work. The one sending out most electric power would be her at the moment, though it has been decreasing for a while. What the hell is up with that anyways?"

"Dunno, she's been off ever since she used my magic.."

"YOUR magic? Didn't know it was THAT easy becoming a Dragon Slayer nowadays..." the blonde Dragonslayer raised a brow at his fellow Dragon Slayer. The blonde girl was placed between the two. She would be the only one of the three to get some sleep in a while, perhaps mostly due to her ever fluctuant magic power that sent random buzzes through the rope and to Laxus, the acclaimed lightning rod.

"NO, and I guess she's been off even before that. What was it.. oh. She encountered this thing called a Beast, an animal with the strength and magic of a Dragon. She fought it on her own, and it infected her.. with something..." the Fire Dragon Slayer continued, moved some blonde hair away from the girls face, revealing that one, lingering scar. He felt it was some kind of silent accusation, a reminder of him not being there.

"Jeez, fighting a Dragon without Dragon Slaying powers. You people go way over board like usual. Aw, there's another charge. Let's try something out... If she really has this much electric power within her body, this shouldn't even make her break a sweat..." he laid an arm on her stomach.

"Hey, Laxus, what are you.." he sent an electric charge through her body. Not a major one, but enough to be felt by most normal people. As in painfully so. The girl opened her eyes with a jolt.

* * *

"Why you little..." I exclaimed and hit the man on the head.

"No groping, you asshole!" I scolded him, and he turned bright red.

"I DID NOT GROPE YOU!"

"Oh, so you merely happened to have your hand on my chest, did you?"

"I was electrocuting you!"

"Through MY CHEST?!

"What!? I didn't.. SORRY, STOP HITTING ME YOU WENCH!"

"WENCH?! OH, YOU DID IT NOW!" then I felt another jolt of electricity build itself up within me, making me fall to my knees from the standing position I had risen to during my rant. My throat felt constricted, it was hard to breathe.

"Lucy? Luce..?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine. Just cold. Isn't the temperature dropping?"

"How should I know?" the one I only earlier today.. or was it yesterday, anyways.. the boy I had called an oven not too long ago replied. Yeah, asking him about general temperatures was pretty much useless.

"Not really..." the other answered, and I had to sigh. Laxus wasn't normal by most standards either. Why did I have to be stuck with these guys? Natsu got up then, looked down on the two of us, his gaze determined.

"In any case, if you're awake, I guess it's time for us to start walking. This weather is going for the worse, and soon. Hanging around here won't get us anywhere," he declared, and helped me up while Laxus got up on his own.

"You smell it too, huh... this storm is going to be bad.." it was strange really, how the person that had once threatened to wipe out Magnolia just to get the title as Master now just readily agreed to wander about in the middle of nowhere with a girl he once petrified AND one of the guys that kicked his butt for doing that. He even tried making me his woman in order to turn me back. There rarely was a calm day in that guild.

"I don't smell it, though."

"Well that's because you're not a Dra.."

"She does smell things though. You don't smell the rain?"

"Oh, the rain? That's a given. Normal people can smell the rain too. I'm more concerned about that black thing that is slowly approaching us. This is a forest that is practically unaffected by normal time or anything originating in the normal time-sphere. Even nighttime remains on the outside. This storm... something is wrong. It's as if.."

"It's as if its made up of excessive magic power. I know, I know, hence why we need to find shelter, I have a bad feeling about this." We started walking, and I looked up at the sky, the black clouds moving around while spreading out, twisting and turning and growling. Wait, growling? No, this was a thunder-storm. Still, it sounded so much like feral growling, much deeper and darker than most beasts I had ever encountered.

"It's like a storm of dragons..." I muttered mostly to myself.

"What?" Natsu turned to look at me, but I shook my head, smiled.

"Nothing. We better hurry though, it's about to start..." I waved it off, though the term seemed fitting. A storm of dragons...

"You got that right... this drizzling isn't going to last forever," Laxus agreed.

"By the way, Lucy?" Natsu asked while we walked, making our way through the greenery, getting more and more soaked as we went.

"Hm?" I hummed, waited for a continuation.

"How do you know that woman?" he asked.

"It's her former and current kidnapper, apparently..." Laxus answered for me, making everything even more complicated, though he had a point. I had told him that earlier after all, though the circumstances around that had been... questionable.

"Huh?" well, the confused sound was to be expected.

"Kind of difficult to explain, that one..." I tried. Yes, a simple explanation wouldn't suffice. It would be a LONG story.

"Try me." the pinkhaired idiot replied, sending me a side glance. He had time. We all had time. Oh well, what the heck..

"Fine. Fine. I guess I should start from the beginning. You see, the first time I met her was several years ago, at a ball.."

"What's a ball?" Natsu interrupted, making me groan.

"It's a fancy ass party where people dance, nimrod, now shut up and let her tell the story!" Laxus stepped in for me, saving the dolt from a kick to the head.

"NIMROD?!"

"Yes, NIMROD! too big a word for you?" SMACK!

"You done now? Want to hear the story or not?" I said in a strict voice.

"Yes..." the two said in unison while rubbing the sore spot where I had hit them for being idiots. SOMETIMES...

"Good. Now here it goes..."

* * *

***AT SOME FANCY MANSION, SEVERAL YEARS AGO***

It was late evening, and the sun was just about to set when the wagon with me, Father and Mother arrived at the Mansion where the annual ball of the harvest would be held. I had never attended this particular event before since I had been too young, but the excitement wasn't too high. After all, most families present today either had no children or chose to keep them at home during such dull congregations where adults would drink champagne and discuss politics. Hardly a place for a child to be. My Father did however insist on bringing me along to most gatherings, as he didn't like leaving me behind at home. My mother agreed to this decision, and thus I often attended similar events.

Now, since I was initially brought up to be a heiress to the Heartfilia Konzern I knew how to act on these occasions. Only speak when spoken to, respect your elders. Those would be the main rules to be followed. Being a child I would be mostly ignored, so I usually would move about practically unnoticed. This particular night was very clear, as I remember it, so I decided early that I would very much like to find some kind of balcony so I could gaze at the stars. That would be where I found her.

"Whoa, they even brought a midget, did they?" a woman commented from the shadows as I emerged through the curtains. It took me a second to spot her, the woman sitting in the corner, several empty glasses and bottles of champagne next to her. The woman was wearing some simple black jeans and a black singlet. To keep her pants up she wore a black belt with silver studs and the head of a beast. I recognized it from the pictures I had encountered in some of my books. A dragon. She was hardly dressed up like one should for these occasions, so I found her weird. Even I wore a nice white frilly dress, picked out for this ball weeks ago.

"I am a child, not a little person."

"I know that, little girl, just messin' with ya. Besides, little person and child is the same. Midget, however..."

"Midget is an offensive word,"

"Accordin' to who, I sure never heard that from any of the midgets I've met, and I've met plenty. What's your name, little girl?"

"My name is Lucy Heartfilia," I replied politely.

"Lucy, eh? Little Lucy. Suits you. So why are you here, little Lucy? This is hardly a place for you to.."

"Would you fancy some champagne, my lad.."

"Fuck off, can't you see I'm busy?" the woman sent a killer glare towards the poor fellow that had dared approach the two of us. He quickly bowed and left, his legs shaking from the fear. Such a crude mouth on her too. This woman clearly didn't belong in the world of nobility. Still, I found her interesting, a welcome change from the usual, dull adults that never spoke a crude word in an entire lifetime.

"That boy is trying to get me drunk, has tried for hours, though I hardly can let my hair down tonight. Got business to attend to," she smiled, and downed another glass of champagne, a glass she somehow had managed to snatch from the boy before he made a run for it. Not trying to get drunk, huh..? She had been drinking enough to get several people drunk. And him trying to get her drunk... The butlers would always wander about and ask everyone without a full glass if they needed a refill. It was their job to keep all the guests satisfied, no matter what they said or looked like.

"Now, alcohol can solve all problems... Occasionally. It does, however, make me one shitty fighter, and we can't 'ave any of that, can we? Sit down, little one, I'll just have a smoke before the show starts." I didn't know what she was on about, the woman, but she seemed like a nice person. It was, however, a small problem with her offer.

"The ground is filthy." yes, I had been brought up properly, and proper ladies did not sit down on the bare ground, especially not while wearing pretty white frilly dresses.

"Says who? I've never heard any floors say that, and I've met plenty in my life. Sit down, will you, and I'll show you a magic trick," she held up a small box of matches, it was...

* * *

***BACK IN THE FOREST, PRESENT TIME***

I stopped, remembered the box in my room. It was the same... How had I failed to notice that? I also remembered something else...

"It sounds like a good story, girly, but I think we're running out of time. We need to find shelter, and quick, 'cause that storm up there isn't messing around."

"My name is LUCY." I corrected him, kind of annoyed to be interrupted in my tale, but we really needed to make a run for it rather than tell stories. Quickly the lightning Dragon Slayer scooped me up in his arms before the boys set off much quicker than I think I could ever manage to run. With nothing else to do all of a sudden, I thought back to that time, the first time I came upon Vera...

* * *

***FLASHBACK***

"I might even tell you a good story if we get the time," she continued to bait me, and I really felt tempted to join her.

"If my dress gets dirty Father will be mad," well, not really mad, but none the less. He would scold me, and I disliked being scolded. He might even send me to the room. The woman only smiled broadly then, patted the ground next to her.

"I give you my word, little one, that father of yours will not make a fuss regarding your dress. I am a woman of my word, believe me. Now sit, let me show you some REAL magic," that final bait did it, and I smiled, sat by her side, made myself comfortable.

"Now, do you know what this is?" she held up a small wooden stick, colored on the end, and I nodded.

"That is a matchstick."

"Indeed it is, now look at this," she stroked the matchstick against the side of the box she had produced it from, making it blaze alight.

"It is supposed to do that you know." I commented, and she laughed.

"Aren't you a cheeky one. I'm not done yet. Watch, and be amazed!" she blew the fire out, leaving a half charred stick. I stared at it, waiting for the magic to happen. Then, suddenly it caught fire again, blazing more vibrant than ever before, moving downwards, then engulfing the whole womans hand.

"Now THIS, is magic," she smiled, and used her own hand to light the smoke she had produced from somewhere. In the process she dropped the blackened matchstick that still was ablaze, it heading for my white dress. I reacted instantly, caught the little thing before it could hit the piece of clothing and burn through it, tossed the thing away as soon as I figured out how hot it was. Much hotter than a regular matchstick. It stopped burning before it hit the ground. Before I could fully comprehend anything, the woman grabbed my hand, held it up while studying the pale white skin.

"Now this.. this is interesting... Aren't you afraid of fire, little one? Most people are, y'know," she commented while smiling, drew a good amount of smoke out of her cigarette, blew it out again, making it spread like a small cloud before the stars.

"Nope, I LOVE fire!" I proclaimed while smiling broadly, then visibly shrunk, averted my gaze to stare at the ground as I realized what I just had blurted out in the heat of the moment.

"But please don't tell my Father. He'll be mad... You're a fire mage, aren't you? A real mage. I've always wanted to be a real mage, one that could go on adventures and have friends and see the whole wide world! Father won't allow it though. He always says it isn't safe, and unfitting for a lady. He wants me to become a housewife, you know. I can't even cook rice!" I stopped ranting, and the woman surprised me by laughing loudly.

"You're not half bad, little one, not half bad at all. Cooking rice, eh? There's no fun in cooking rice anyways. So you want to be a mage."

"Yeah! You could teach me, I bet you're crazy strong, you could teach me how to use your magic!" I pleaded, and the woman smirked.

"You have no idea.. kid. My magic, though. Now that's a tricky kind."

"Really? What kind of magic do you use?"

"Well... you'll have to keep it a secret though. Just between the two of us."

"I promise!" I answered with big eyes. A REAL mage! Whoa! I had never really met a REAL mage before, one that could use magic tricks that weren't taken out of some book.

"Name's Vera. Vera D. Homura. I'm a Dragon Slayer..." she said with a really wide grin plastered on her face.

***_And, we are done, at least until next chapter comes. I really hope you liked this one, 'cause personally I loved it! Talking about the past worked out relatively well with my other story, so I thought, what the heck! This isn't the ending of course, rest assured my lovely readers. There are still things that need explaining and plans that need to be put in action. We shall meet again..._***


	18. A DEAD End?

***_Hello there, my darlings, not so long time no see! I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline. On to the chapter!_***

Finally, the storm seemed to be subsiding, at least enough for the three Fairy Tail mages, or two present and one FORMER Fairy Tail mage, could sit down and breathe for a while. Lucy had fallen asleep at some point, her fever slowly rising, but still remaining on a somewhat manageable level. Night was descending on them, shown merely through the now visible skies as the dark clouds that had been there only minutes before retreated into the nothingness they once came from. A truly magnificent sight, far from any civilization that would've contaminated the light from the oldest light-sources known to both man and beast.

And then, as they sat there in the heart of the forest, a star grew in the skies. Bigger and bigger it got, until the two of them, the two that remained conscious to see it, realized that the object in the skies was heading right for them. It was, however, too late. Too late to run away. Too late to even set up any form of defensive stance. The star hit them with full force, a bright light enveloping the Forest of No Time. For the longest moment everything was light and utter silence. The first change to occur was the shaking. A shaking like no other felt in the whole existence of Fiore, followed by a rumbling so deep as if the Earth itself was a Dragon of ancient times that now had come back to life.

A shockwave moved faster than any runner, spread throughout the forest, beyond its limits, continued on, even creating an unpleasant breeze that moved through the Guildhall belonging to the single Magic guild in Magnolia. The Master that had been sipping yet another beer on the counter looked up suddenly as a shiver went down his spine, a terrible premonition overcoming him and making him seem even older than he actually was, quite a feat when considering his age.

The dust cleared over the place that since times immemorial had remained untouched by the wars of men. There was not a single tree remaining. Nor was there any animal, any rock, not even a shadow. Just bare, brown earth. Laxus Dreyar was no more. Natsu Dragneel was no more. Lucy Heartfilia.. was no more.

In a forest on an island far away from the mainland, a young man looked up, staring at the dark skies that slowly grew darker as the sun descended giving way for the ever changing moon. He knew, without having to consult the little gust of chilly air running through the woods of a forest of forever summer. He knew, that his escape from this world had escaped him. That his executor had met his end before he could save the world from eternal darkness. Thus, the dark being on the island sighed, tears running down his face, wetting the dead ground he sat on, surrounded by dead beasts that had tried ending him to no avail. For no ordinary beast could kill the bringer of Death. Only one could...

"This era is coming to an end..." he muttered, raising a pale hand as if trying to reach for the stars. Such a shame, that the Salamander was to end by the hands of something as inanimate as a rock descending from the heavens. A rock that would mean the end of all things, in the end. A shame indeed, but inevitable... Or so it would seem. Soon.. soon he, Zeref, would end it all, and there would be no one to stop him.

***_I guess some of you might be curious about what my Muse does when backed into a corner. Well... here you have your answer. Dark thoughts, dark ends and very random deaths. No. This isn't the real chapter. This chapter is fake. Congratulations. I decided to give this one out in order to stall you guys for a few moments until I finished the very real next chapter. You must admit though, I had you going there for a few seconds.. Am I right or what? Please bear with me, if this goes the way I planned the next one should be out in a few hours. Good to see you all again, and until next time... :)_***


	19. An Oncoming Storm

***_Only half a death threat... how dull is that? Would've thought more people would react upon reading the FAKE chapter 18, but alas, no such luck. I did promise you the REAL deal shortly after the less real one, however, and I do try to be a keeper of my words. Thus, the story continues, telling the tale of Lucy Heartfilia, a tale that never have been told before._

_I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline. I am but a humble storyteller that has earned the privilege to write and publish this using a tiny spark of what was given to all. Imagination, you never know where it will lead you..._***

***FLASHBACK CONTINUES***

A real.. Dragon. Slayer. Like in those books my father always wanted to keep from me mainly because my imagination always went haywire when I read such things. Not that he could ever stop me.

"Hm.. things are 'bout to start, little Lucy. You want adventures, am I right? There's one comin' this way right now. Let's greet it," and with that she took hold of me, and jumped from the balcony. We were on the fifth floor. I screamed. I screamed REALLY loud too, thus alerting the security of the start of one hell of an event.

"You! Stop this mere instance! I demand you to le.." the guard didn't get to say anything else as Vera let me go, a wide smirk lighting up her face as she charged. 10 guards. 20. 50. 100. None stood a chance as she moved with a speed I never had seen. What was she? Was this the strength of the beings that were said to hold the ability to kill REAL dragons? Suddenly I spotted a male without a guards uniform in the midst of unconscious bodies, his fist colliding with HERS. The force of the impact alone coursed through the garden, blew like a strong wind that shook the trees. Even after the shockwave subsided the leaves kept trembling and the ground shook from the pressure of magic that surrounded the two beings. None of the guards were there anymore, I noticed. The shockwave had blown them all away. How was that even possible? And why hadn't I been blown away with them? A small twitch in the eyes of the woman, an I could've sworn they landed on me before going back to her opponent.

"Greetings," Vera said with a smile still evident on her face, and the dance began. Everything in the area became fragile like little toys thrown about in a fit of rage. Trees, buildings, wagons. It was as if the world adjusted its rhythm to the cataclysmic clash between the two of them. The wind picked up, clouds appeared from seemingly nowhere, growling like feral beasts. In the middle of all this, everybody else had long since fled the scene if they hadn't already been literally blown away, all except one frightened blonde girl named Lucy Heartfilia. Yes, that would be me. How I had survived this far would be thanks to a miracle, seeing how boulders with the size of wagons, and actual wagons for that matter, flew about with an ever increasing frequency. Vera laughed. I couldn't for the life of me understand with the injuries she had sustained, how she could be laughing as if having the time of her life.

"That all you got, pipsqueak?" she asked before heading into a new fit of laughter, a tad hysterical this time. The moment after she got hit hard on the chest, sending her into the ground with such force she also moved several meters backwards, efficiently digging up the paved ground as she went. That ought to have hurt. It didn't look like she was getting up, either. What can I do? I didn't think, merely did. Moved in front of her, ignoring the wind and the rumbling, the first drops to fall from the black skies, the lightning hitting the ground and making everything black and white.

"Go away!" I warned, my voice sounding so thin and fragile. My legs were shaking, but I stood there none the less, the hunter approaching. He was young. Older than me, granted, but still. Wearing nothing but a tattered pair of shorts, wild blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes. He walked with such agility, showing with every step the potential of a true hunter, and not the kind that would use human tools like guns and the likes of it. No, this kind of strength could be acquired in no shop, nor in any book I had ever come across. He stopped in front of me, his eyes boring into mine. The depths of those eyes, so much fear and pain and locked up anger. I also noticed a studded necklace around his throat, like the kind found around guard-dogs. Was that part of his pain? Had he been caged up like some kind of beast? In a mere instant I felt some kind of understanding between the two of us. I understood that he had suffered greatly in his life. That freedom never had been an option for him.

"Die." one syllable. One word. I sensed that the boy had problems with speaking, making the word some kind of farewell. The closest thing he could come an actual speech. His eyes, that for a moment had shown understanding hardened as he went in for the kill.

"LUCY!" I saw the movement of his arm, but no way would I be able to avoid that strike. I also heard the woman calling my name, her voice sounding so scared. Why? She had shown no compassion when facing the guards. Nor when addressing that butler. Why me? The hand hit me, and everything was pain, then dark.

I woke up in my room, my mother sitting by the bedside. An attempt to kidnap me, was the answer to my question when I asked what happened. A woman that had been on the guest list turned out to be a mere commoner, or at least no noble woman which she would have to be to be on that guest list at all. She had been strong, very strong, and almost got away. But then, a strike of luck. There was this storm, the worst storm anyone had ever seen that had been there. My kidnapper had abandoned me when escaping the storm had become the main goal.

I knew it was a lie, because I remembered. I remembered faintly the time before my rescuers came upon me.

"Do you know someone named Igneel, little one?" Vera asked softly, sitting by my side by the ruins of what once had been a magnificent castle.

"No." I managed to utter. My body hurt. I couldn't move. The woman sighed. I currently lay in a tower that at some point had been tossed by either sides, now pretty much smashed but still giving protection from the howling wind and the pouring rain.

"Shame, thought you might be one o' his, though I hardly can imagine him ever bringing home a kid."

"Who's Igneel?" I asked, tried opening my eyes. It didn't help much, the room was pitch black, though maybe.. I'd get used to it with some time.

"Ah, well that's a secret really. Might as well share it with ya, though, since you're good at keepin' them. He's my brother, Igneel. A rash, hotblooded idiot that loves setting things on fire. A real dragon to boot, too. A fire dragon. You see, only dragons can teach a person how to use Dragon Slayer magic. That's why it would be tricky learning you my magic," she explained, and I smiled. A real dragon.

"You should tell him about me then. I want to be strong, see?"

"And why's that, little one?"

"Mama is sick. She's sick and because of that she needs protection. Father is trying his best.. but I can help out too," it hurt to breathe...

"A noble cause, little one. 'Nfortunately I haven't seen that brat in years. Oh, I know where he's at, not too hard findin' 'im if I have to, but we had a little fight last time I went... Anyways, you should sleep. Dream of dragons if you like, or other things. And I'll keep my promise, your father will not make a fuzz about that dress of yours, but in return... be free. Go out on adventures, get friends and see the whole wide world, will ya? Don't be a bird in a cage. I might hate humans, but.."

"You hate humans?" I asked, interrupting her speech. It REALLY hurt, like nothing I had ever felt before. But even though it felt like I would die, I couldn't comprehend how she could doom an entire race.

"The only good thing humans ever brought with them would be booze, and perhaps tobacco. It will be a while until they come to rescue you with the storm, those people daring to call themselves the cavalry. They've never seen anything remotely similar to a war, as green as they can get..."

"So.." I gulped, stared at the black ceiling. I was a human.

"Are you going to leave me here?" I asked, and the woman smiled, I think, though I couldn't see it clearly in the dark. She was hurt after the fight. I briefly wondered if she'd won, or if she lost. Where would the boy be? It all faded, the questions, when the fear of being abandoned here in the dark made itself known. But she hated humans. Why would she bother staying here, keeping me company?

"'Course not. I told you didn't I? That I'd tell you some mighty good stories if we got the time. And I'm a woman of my word..." and so she did. She told me of warriors and dragons, people that time long ago had erased the name of. People she claimed to hold values she no longer could see in the so called heroes of the modern age. Why she took pity on me I didn't know. Why she treated me differently than the rest.. also a mystery. Still. She saved my life. She offered me a day I never would forget, and fixed my childish mind on a single goal. I wanted to be a mage, if I survived this. I wanted to be a mage, and if possible, I wanted to be a Dragon Slayer.

* * *

***IN SOME CAVE, SOMEWHERE...***

The storm raged outside, ripping trees up by their roots, howling and knocking, trying to get in to the three sitting in the gloomy cave, only lit up by some slowly burning and still kind of wet firewood. The sky was roaring like none of the boys had ever heard before, lightning striking almost every minute, the rain falling heavily.

"What the hell is up with that storm?" Laxus commented, feeling the magic power loading the air like electricity. He should know the feeling, but this...

"Nothing to do but wait it out," Natsu replied, settling down by the cave wall, his partner leaning against him, once more sleeping. He had an arm around her waist, keeping her warm.

"I swear, how can anyone SLEEP with all that noise going on? It's like the world is ending out there!"

"Shut up, someone IS sleeping."

"I don't think she's going to wake up anytime soon. That fever could probably cripple most people," he countered. The celestial mage currently had an impressive fever going on, flushing her face and making her breathing labored. Her electric surges had ended though. The grip the pinkhaired Dragon Slayer had on the girl tightened slightly, and the room got warmer.

"This isn't WORKING. Why did it have to be a storm NOW? Why did she have to get sick NOW? She probably could've told us the way out from this place, but look at her... I don't know how to fix a sick person. Where's Wendy at a time like this?" he wasn't coping with this.. this WAITING. Fighting, bring it on, but WAITING?!

* * *

At the guild a certain blue haired Dragon Slayer sneezed loudly, causing her to fall in all her length (let's face it, she wasn't that long...) on the floor, narrowly avoiding being trampled to death by the myriad of semi-panicked Fairy Tail mages bustling about and preparing for an extensive search of two missing members, one whom disappeared in the middle of the hall in the presence of.. well.. everybody.

"Careful, Wendy, we can't have you catching a cold now, Lucy and Natsu might need you when we find them," Mira said calmly and helped the younger girl up on her feet again. Wendy nodded and was on her way again.

* * *

Natsu sneezed.

"Calm down, Fire-head, we'll get through this. Firstly, do not let her get cold. You're already doing a splendid job there. Other than that, wash her body frequently and give her lots of water.." the sentence ended as the Lightning Dragon Slayers knowledge ended right then and there. Beyond the basic care of a person with a cold, he knew little. Well, it was more than the other one, but since none of them had experienced much sickness in their lives (Laxus had, kind of, but not too often when he was younger, before he got the lightning lacrima inserted) and certainly never had been forced into taking care of sick people, their knowledge was limited.

"Wait.. wash her body?"

"Yes, to get rid of the sweat, you know, to..." as the meaning of his words hit him, he stopped talking, suddenly becoming bright red. The boys looked at each other in silence for a couple of moments.

"We'll get out of here soon. The heat and the water should be enough until we get out of this place," he eventually said, the both of them breathing out in relief. Some things were best left untouched, the topic of undressing and washing an unconscious Lucy in a cave with only two boys present being one of those. Laxus made himself more comfortable, sitting next to the sick girl, but not close enough to touch her. He might've been carrying the girl as they made a run for it, but he now left the rest to her partner. He didn't seem to mind.

"So.. You and Lucy, huh?" he said after a while, as the silence became boring and the blonde boy found nothing else to pass the time.

"Me and Lucy what?" the other boy replied, suspicion in his voice.

"You know.."

"No, I don't. If you got anything to say, spit it out."

"You're a couple."

"We're partners," the scarfed boy corrected.

"Sure doesn't look like you're just partners."

"Well, we are."

"So if I attempted to make her mine, you wouldn't mind?"

"She's mine, lightning rod, so back off," he warned then.

"So she's not your girlfriend, but she belongs to you?" this conversation was going in really weird directions, but it gave the lightning mage the entertainment he sought to pass the time. Was the fellow Dragon Slayer TRULY that dense?

"Yes," the boy replied, answering the older one with a raging confirmation.

"Really now. And she knows this? She knows that she supposedly belongs to you?" the answer to that might be an interesting one...

"Yes. Of course she knows," he said it as if the question of ownership was the most natural thing in the world.

"You really are dense, aren't you..." he muttered, and decided on a different approach. There had to be some way of stirring up that simple little world Natsu Dragneel seemingly lived in.

"What about dating? What if Lucy chose to date someone?"

"She could if she wanted to. She doesn't date, though," and there it was, the evident flaw in the logic that only could work for an idiot without a clue when it came to any such thing as dating.

"What if she got a boyfriend and decided to leave you for him." he let that one hang there, giving the poor fellow some time to think. Though the subject of matchmaking never had been a particular interest to the former Fairy Tail member he DID know a being who LOVED it. Oh, how Mira would rip her hair out trying to match this dolt with ANYONE, or rather, LUCY. He was no idiot, he saw the possible match there. He also saw that Natsu completely failed to grasp the very concept of anything beyond friendship.

"She wouldn't do that," was the reply after a long stretch of silence, or as silent as it could get with the apparent apocalypse going on outside. As if to emphasize his point the girl sighed in her sleep, snuggled against him. There had been such confidence in his statement too. So the boy DID know.. somehow. That stupid moron might not be that stupid after all.

* * *

***MEANWHILE, IN MAGNOLIA***

"Oi, Master!" Gildarts made his way through the crowd, waving at the old man that sat on the counter watching his children bustle about.

"You know where they are." Makarov announced as the S-class mage stopped in front of him.

"I know where they are..." he confirmed, and scratched the back of his head, sighed heavily.

"The thing is, you're not going to like it."

* * *

***MEANWHILE, SOMEWHERE..?***

The land was mostly flat but a small hill. Well, not really a SMALL hill, perhaps more like a very steep yet very small mountain. There she stood, squatting on the top of a sharp rock, certain death surely awaiting her should she fall on any side of it. The wind was moaning, tugging her hair, trying to get her falling down onto the sharp rocks below, but the woman seemed unfazed as she stared at the destruction. The sky was black, but enough lightning escaped the stormy clouds to show her the area. Endless forest, old and dark. A lot of history remained hidden amongst those trees. Not around her hill though. Not here. The young one had fought here, so no trees were left standing. Rather pulverized they were, or at least mauled down and thoroughly flayed. Long below the woman could spot the remnants of a headless corpse crucified as a warning to all the others to come. For others usually would come after a surge like that.

Howling wind, rumbling sky, pouring rain. All of it made it hard to use the general senses such as hearing, smelling and seeing. The magic power that penetrated the air even made it pretty much impossible to sense anything or anyone at all. Not weak beings, in any case. The woman sought no weak person, however.

"Son of Igneel..." she murmured, a smile grazing her lips, a smile that suggested insanity. Perhaps was that what she was. Insane. Outright deranged. Didn't make this even a tiny bit less interesting.

***_And even more drama is about to begin as hell breaks loose. Well, we've been there before, why not once more? Where will this end? You could ask, but my answer would either be lacking or a lie, considering how I have no idea. Or do I?_***


	20. Death and Revival

***_Hm... should I update this story so early? Really? Will I bother..? Apparently, yes. Am I being overly active nowadays on this site? Why yes, yes I am. Quite a few chapters have been released with less than a month to separate them. Be glad, dear readers. Be appreciative of my current good mood, since I COULD turn sour just as easily. Well, not really, but things change. One day I might. Who am I kidding, I am a walking emotional bomb. I head for the skies, plunge into the deep, then head for the moon in a span of five minutes. Might be one of the reasons behind my very undependable release dates. Well.. they would've been undependable if they EXISTED._

_Anyways. My head is bursting with ideas right now, so I write and release while they remain existent. I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline. Sadly the actual show is on an indefinite holiday, so... Hold on, fellow fans, here I have a minor portion of what would be you fix of Fairy Tail madness, may the TRUE madness return to hunt us in not too long_***

Dark. I see no light, I am alone in the darkness. I am different, but it doesn't matter. Nothing matters. Nothing but the fact that I am alone. I do not wish to be alone. I fear being alone. I will be consumed by the darkness if this keeps up. I don't want to disappear. I do not wish.. to die.

The thought strikes my mind, and I become frantic. I try yelling, kicking, screaming. All to fend the silence trying to consume me. No sound is produced. Since there is nothing to be kicked, I kick nothing. My limbs become weary, heavy and hard to handle. Nothing has changed. I am still alone. Still trapped. Was there ever anything before this? Was there ever anything but emptiness?

"Lucy!" the scream echo through the vast space, a voice that doesn't belong to me. A mere echo from the past, I realise, but it answers my question. Yes. There was something else, once upon a time. There was a time when I wasn't alone.

**FLASHBACK**

The images were so distorted, dark and fuzzy as if seen from a lacrima slightly out of range. Ah, I remember. We were in a cave, the three of us. How we got there... Irrelevant. I didn't remember. We were exiting though. Whatever brought us to that place, we had done what we came to do, and it was time to move on. I remember the female that awaited us when we stepped into the blaring sunshine. I remember thinking that she might be like us. Kind of lost, and in need of company. She only wore some loose bandages on her upper body in order to keep her decent, and a tattered pair of shorts. Those eyes, sparkling blue, showing off a myriad of emotions fighting to become dominant. Insanity seemed to be on the winning side. She also had short, wily black hair.

I remember she laughed. One of the boys next to me, a boy with pink hair and wearing a scarf, put a hand in front of me, told me to step back. I was unarmed. I remember agreeing, before I hit him hard in the back of his head for forgetting one major detail. We were bound, the lot of us. The lady laughed even louder when the other boy also started yelling insults. A blonde boy it was, a scar on his face. I remember that I also bore a similar scar, albeit closer to my ear. Then the person in front of us offered a solution, something that made us fall into silence, look at her. I felt waves of something wash over me. This woman... She was dangerous. She wanted pain to spread. She wanted her own pain to go away.

She named the rope. Lifeline. A tricky spell to perform. A trick spell to undo, unless we used a.. shortcut. Her grin as she paused slightly before she said shortcut. The boys didn't catch up on it. They were too caught up on the thought of the impending fight. That would be why Natsu, the boy with the pinkish hair, did something that was very like him. He answered yes without thinking. Well. Not quite like that. More words were involved. I remember the next moment.. a hand that entered my abdomen, exited through my back. I remember a word spoken in a tone I had heard before. A word with literal cruciality to it, spoken with a calmness that seemed unnatural.

"Die." she whispered it into my ear, and I saw the bindings go away like black smoke. Then I got flung straight to hell for all I knew. At least until some rock chose to intervene on my way there, breaking my fall. It broke, at least, and stopped me from falling sideways. The one thing that etched itself into my mind before the darkness emerged was HIS expression, his eyes dilated into pure shock. The boy didn't get to react, not even when I saw the being that had chosen to send me to the afterlife lashed out, efficiently sending both of my companions flying.

**FLASHBACK END**

Dark. It is dark. I am alone. I don't want to be alone. I fear being alone. I don't want to disappear. I do not wish.. to die.

"You're awfully stubborn, little one. Not that I'd expect any less from you." a woman sat before me, in the darkness. No.. wait. I lay on the ground, a blue sky above me. A woman wearing black pants and a black singlet sitting on the remnants of a boulder, smashed to pieces by the force of the impact when I... I can't breathe. My body won't.. move. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I DON'T WANT TO DIE.

"Scary, isn't it, when your body stops moving? When it stops breathing, and your heart stops making that sound. It's no fun dying, yet everyone does.. in the end." the darkness took hold of me, tried dragging me under, drowning me. Once more I managed to emerge from it, but how long would I be able to last?

"I've seen many people die. I've buried countless bodies.." the woman continued, unfazed by my silent struggle. I can't hear my heart. Only the voice of Vera, the wind caressing the leaves of the woods around me, and faint, the battle of my companions. Natsu Dragneel. Laxus Dreyar. I knew their names now. I also knew they fought my battle as well as their own. Avenging the fact that I had been hurt. Because that was Fairy Tail. Even if Laxus claimed to be a FORMER Fairy, he would still fight. Mess with a Fairy, and you got all of them coming for revenge. Revenge a hundred times over.

"I've seen countless battles.." Vera continued, sending me a sideglance, cocking her head to the side.

"That's another reason why I hate humans. They don't see the value of living. Then again, does any living creature truly see that value?" she asked me, but I still failed to answer, merely lay motionless, facing the sky. I couldn't even turn my eyes, she was stuck in the periphery of my vision.

"His son.. he amuses me. There's no doubts regarding their relation. Idiots, the both of them, but they have values I can appreciate. Loyalty. Bonds. They also lack experience when it comes to good ol' Death. Can you hear it? You lay here dying, if not already dead, and he still yells at his foe the absolute belief of your survival. Igneel really outdid 'mself there," I don't want to die. Vera spoke the truth. I could hear his shout even here. His proclamation of utter confidence in me. The laugh from the woman.

"I never discovered what you are, either. Nor do I know what made you what you are. If your father had anything to do with it. He would've known SOMETHING though. You remember that ball? I asked you questions, and you answered many that I never uttered. Protected. Never left alone. You didn't feel.. never mind.. which made you obviously tempered with. Nor did you know Igneel, so your mind had been wiped... You should breathe if you wish to avoid brain damage. What do I know though, you could be brain dead by now. Plain ol' dead for that matter." the one my companions fought asked them if they knew the true meaning of a lifeline, followed by another crash. Then the hysterical shout. A lifeline ends when one of the bound dies.

"See for yourSELF!" I heard the stranger yell, followed by the faint sound of trees breaking, a sound that neared me where I lay, drowning. Then my vision got changed as something landed on top of me, a tangle of legs and arms and blonde hair.

"Sorry, girly, but you ought to mo..." Laxus stopped as his eyes landed on my face, still unmoving. Still staring straight ahead. I saw Vera put a finger against her lips, urging me to keep still. How could I move in this situation? How could I utter a single word? My fellow blonde let go of my body as if burned when he realised... when he felt, or rather didn't feel my heartbeat anymore. Something dragged me under, threatened to overcome me this time. I still struggled. I don't want to die.

"Why don't you just give up, little one? Much easier that way." Vera commented dryly, without the boy that quickly stepped away from me noticing her at all. Could only I see her? A faint battle cry, one I had learned to recognise everywhere. I can't. I can't abandon that dolt. Not when he fights so hard for me. Not when he fights so hard for his guild. If I give up now, he will be disappointed. I could hear Laxus running back to his battle.

"Now THAT, is the Lucy I met back then... as you will, little Lucy, but it's gonna hurt like a bitch..." what did she mean... an electric charge surged through my body, or was it fire? It moved through every nerve, every blood vessel. She bowed down, whispered a few chosen words into my ear. And with that, Vera D. Homura was gone, right before my lungs got their first taste of air in a long time. Black dots moved around, messing with my vision as I sat up, ignoring my screaming body that loud and clear spoke of quite a few broken body-parts. Fractured at the least. Still, up on my feet, I started walking. So hot. Why are things smoking? I passed tree after tree, they turned black when I touched them. The grass under my feet blackened under my feet, shrivelled up and turned to ash.

"They grow up so fast, don't they?"

"Indeed. You sure she'll live, though?" a male voice answered Vera, both of them standing behind me. Irrelevant. I didn't need to know. What I needed to do.. was to move forward.

"She is strong, that one. If she's survived thus far..." her voice trailed off, and I felt myself slipping before another consciousness. Another being. Another me.

* * *

The girl was dead. Lucy Heartfilia was dead. He had seen it himself, felt the unmoving body without a pulse or a heartbeat. Even if they got through this alive, it would be considered a loss. And victory seemed far off with this crazy wench. What the hell was she? Incredibly strong. Incredibly fast. She also seemingly controlled metal, like that asshole Gajeel. That prick never mentioned having a fellow Dragon Slayer grow up with him. That was what she had to be, after all, unless... Hadn't Flamehead said something about a Beast? But they didn't have elements.. Beasts were given the strength and magical overflow of a dragon, but the element never successfully got transferred to them. Countless subjects had died in the attempts to do that. No. This wench had to be one of his kind.

"Natsu!" the boy yelled as his fellow mage got slammed into the rocky surface beside the mouth of the cave they had stayed in through that storm.

"What, I'm kinda busy here!" the boy answered before launching into yet another attack, his anger visibly growing with the amount of injuries he acquired. Laxus jumped back into the mix, blocked a blow that could have been fatal.

"We should fall back!" this battle was pretty much one sided. The blonde managed to land a blow on the girl, one that should have shattered her shoulder, but somehow she managed to move her arm there with an incredible speed, and at the same time sent her leg towards him, sending him flying instead through several young trees. Relatively young trees, everything in this place seemed old. Ancient even.

"What the hell are you on about?!" the scarfed boy said, jumped in on the now open opponent that still was in the process of kicking, barely dodged the moving foot by ducking, sent a flaming fist up in hopes of making it hit home. The Salamander didn't discriminate and saw nothing wrong in aiming for her face, a face that was oddly pretty even with the ugly distortion created by her all too wide grin and somewhat hysterical giggling that had been going on for a while. Oh, she enjoyed this fight. Didn't flinch even for a bit upon being hit, which she rarely was with those animal like reflexes and that incredible strength sustained in that tiny body. The flaming fist never hit her face though as she leaned back just in time, let her hands take over the job of her feet as she grabbed hold of the boy with her legs, turned and sent him flying before twisting her whole body in the air, much like a cat, landing softly on her legs once more.

"We should fall back!" Laxus Dreyar repeated his plea as he returned from the woods he had been so brutally flung into moments before, a plea he didn't really see a point in himself, even with this hopeless situation they were in. It was not in his way to give in this easily. Yet this... He might act cold, but he knew that the blonde girl, Lucy, didn't deserve to end like that, alone and scared with the battle cries of her partner lulling her into the darkness while he remained unaware. A raging roar of the thunder dragon was easily dodged, another kick aimed at him as well. The two Dragon Slayers found themselves side by side for a brief moment.

"I'm not going anywhere, she's going to pay for hurting one of my nakama!" Natsu growled back, then went back into the fight, dodging hits while having his hits dodged. Arms and feet moving with such precision, like the girl and the scarfed boy danced a well choreographed dance of battles, the lunges becoming wilder with every move as the invisible beat got faster. By a lucky strike, or pure talent, one could never be too certain, the Salamander got a hit in, sending the girl flying into a tree, breaking it to splinters. With ablaze fists the Salamander started to slowly approach the tree while dust settled. Oh, for the love of.. Laxus swore.

"She's DEAD!" he yelled, tried making the boy see some sense. Come on. See it. Stop this. Get away. TO BE CONTINUED...

***_Yes. I know there is a Manga BEFORE anyone starts lecturing me regarding how the manga hasn't ceased. No, I haven't read the Manga as of yet, though I know I should. Anyways, did you like the chapter? Yes, the ending is lacking. I WAS writing this chapter when all of a sudden it passed 4000 words. My usual limit goes around 2000. 3000 is somewhat acceptable, but none the less. 4000 is just ridiculous. Yes, I have split this chapter in half. No, I am not yet done with the next chapter and might have to chop it it half AGAIN._

_Other than that, please excuse my madness, and my former AND present grammatical errors. Yes, I am lazy and haven't gone back as of yet to fix the horrendous was/were nightmare I know to exist somewhere back there. And yes, it is birthday suit, not birth suit. I command all to mentally picture Gray Fullbuster in a birth suit, whatever that may look like. Seriously, made my day. Yes, I am a fan of reviews. No, I demand NOTHING from anyone. Just.. you know, would be nice._

_Weird rants aside, I will say it once more. I hope you liked the chapter, and I hope you will like the once to come. There will be others. Sometime in the future. Setting dates are boring, but I will try and make it within the span of seven days. Mark TRY. I said something similar before, and the wait... let's just say it was.. longer. Until next time!_***


	21. The Death of Irony

***_I know I know, I released the chapter slightly later than anticipated. Blame The Doctor if you must, though he rarely can be blamed for much, can he? Such an odd fellow, The Doctor. The ones of you that are somewhat affiliated with British Television shows should understand that statement. No tottering from the lot of you. Tottering, my word of the day. Or night. Depends on your perspective of time, I suppose._

_Anyways, I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline. Does not mean I have any particular aversion towards writing this story. I sometimes fear that I enjoy writing these chapters far too much. Well, this was intended to be part of my last chapter, so I could hardly leave you hanging for that long. Thus here we are, once more, at the tip of yet another adventure. Onwards we go!_***

Stopping Natsu in the middle of a fight like this.. now THAT was a challenge. Out of the cloud of dust emerged a somewhat enraged girl, some blood dripping from her forehead, and the dance started again. Flames versus Metal. Sure, the Salamander had smelted metal before. This girl, though. Reflexes like a cat. Force of a Dragon. And she was barking mad to top it off. Made even Gajeel seem like a kitten. She laughed loudly, made her already metalled hands grow spikes, making the battle bloody since Natsu refused to let his pace go. Laxus Dreyar snapped out of his dazed awe just to enter the battle again, the three dragons bloodying themselves up in a battle of endurance now rather than strength. The girl clearly had the upper hand.

"What are you on about, she's clearly moving around!" he yelled in between blows, his hands already worse for wear, his body slowly following as she landed more hits on him. Clothing, skin and flesh slowly being ripped to shreds. If this continued, the end of more than ONE Fairy Tail mage would come to pass soon. What made the whole ordeal worse was how little injuries their foe had sustained. A few cuts and grazes. She ignored the fire, and didn't seem to get the concept of electricity despite the fact that she SHOULD be more suspectible to it being a metal mage. Iron no less, a metal that lead electricity quite well. This had to end, and soon. They might not be able to beat her here, but if they made a run for it... his grandfather would surely be looking for his missing children. If at least ONE could make it...

"LUCY IS DEAD!" it was a gamble, but such a statement would surely catch the attention of the boy that was so into the battle he hardly seemed to notice his injuries anymore. How could Laxus Dreyar know... How could he know that such a statement had been uttered too many times these recent days? He didn't. Simple as that.

"Wh..what? Stop kidding around, lightning rod!" the boy turned his head for an instant to send a glare that could've killed towards his fellow Dragon Slayer, that instant lack of concentration earning him a solid kick to the head that sent him flying into a tree, efficiently making it fall to the ground despite its old age shown through the thick trunk. The moment after the lightning mage got thrown off as well, into solid rock once more, beside the cave mouth. The surrounding area had long since gone from old forest to ravaged battleground, spiky splinters that once had been trees that had been growing for centuries if not millennia. The dust fell, showing the Salamander that tried getting up on his feet, his body shaking from the strain. Really, talking about death now, in the heat of battle... not funny. Not remotely.

He had better things to think about, like how to counter a being that seemed to go on and on without tiring at all. A being that laughed at the prospect of injuries and that could counter his moves as he thought of them. Sure. The girl showed SOME signs of not being used to battling all the time. Few did have HIS kind of experience when it came to the art of combat, considering how often he had engaged friends and foes during his life. Still, her instincts made up for it. Her strength and stamina made up for it. He COULD take her on, but he was tired. And injured. He needed help. He needed FOOD. Not that he had access to this at the moment. The storm might've ended, but the ground remained damp and so did the trees. Lucy didn't own any spirits that could produce fire for him, and the thought alone of devouring lightning made him cringe. How was Lucy, anyways? Natsu didn't believe her to be dead, she was stronger than that, but she had been heavily injured before getting tossed off into the woods, and he hadn't seen her in a while now. She usually came eventually as long as her legs allowed her to. Sometimes even if they didn't. His partner was a lot stronger than she seemed to believe. She wouldn't wait unless she had a good reason.

There, one leg under him, and he managed to lift himself up on his feet. Fine. He might find himself unable to win this fight, but there was no reason to give up without trying. Food would be nice, but he would have to wait until he won. Yes, he could practically smell the fire already. Okay, time for round two...

"It hurts..." the three battling individuals stopped dead in their tracks to stare at the part of the forest that quickly was blackening away around a fourth. She was shining brightly, the girl that had managed to end up in the middle of a war between what seemed to be three dragons. Her eyes shining orange, the same colour of her blazing hair. It made her already pale skin seem even paler, the rings under her eyes even darker as shadows danced around her flaming body. So far her clothing lasted, the shorts and the singlet, but for how long? The edges were blackening just the same as the forest around due to the extreme heat. Even through it all, she was clutching her abdomen, dark red seeping through. The two that had chosen to unite under common cause for the battle hardly recognised her, the girl one thought had died, the other refusing to ever again accept such a notion. Before any of them could name the being in front of them though, their foe spoke up in pure surprise.

* * *

"Blaze?" the orange haired girl laughed, a pained laugh but still recognisable. That same laughter I had heard while being dead. Or dying. What had I been.. really?

"You're alive. You're fucking ALIVE! HAH! I KNEW IT! I KNEW I COULD SENSE SOMETHING WEIRD. But have your battling skills improved? You were such a wimp back then. Such a coward. Always running away. Even if it's no running away. Not ever. 'Cause they'll find you, every FUCKING TIME!"

"I..." I paused, looked at her, the girl that had brought two Dragon Slayers to their knees, seemingly without even breaking a sweat. How could it be, that through all that, I could only feel sadness when looking into her eyes?

"I don't know who you are." I then said, tried standing properly. By the gods, it felt like my body was falling apart. So much blood. Such injuries. Natsu seemed worse off than me, though. Laxus not too far behind him regarding injuries.

"Of course you don't, idiot. That's why I say there's no running away. How do you think you forgot?" her voice changed so suddenly as she also momentarily stood there like a normal girl around my age. Her face was smeared with blood, her fists red and bleeding despite the fact that she probably had caused more damage with them as they were before. Spiked iron. As she stood, she looked like the loneliest creature in the world.

"I'll tell you once, before it all ends, so listen carefully. I am Jérnsaxa, the Ironborn. You used to call me Irony, 'cause you're a wimp, and 'cause you knew I hated my name..."

"I know you?"

"Yes you do, fucker, now shut up and let me FINISH. You had two names, though, because you were special. Lucy Blaze, the Child of Fire. Only one to ever survive the process of becoming an artificial Fire Dragon Slayer. 'Cause of that you never needed to off the others. They all died screaming before you had to. Plenty survived the Iron treatment. Had to kill 'em all. My friends. EVERYONE I fucking knew. For that is how they deal with us. You know, I always wanted to kill the REAL Slayers, 'cause they are FUCKING RETARDS. Lost their parent, did they? I never had parents in the first place. No one to watch out for me. No one to tell me the monsters under my bed weren't real. NO ONE. So I thought hey! How would it feel killing a REAL Dragon Slayer? One that was taught by a REAL Dragon? Doesn't matter in the end. He's weak. Stupid. You, however..." she stopped the rant to look at me. Her demeanour changed once more, back to her old, crazy self. Back into her battle stance, back with the iron covering her hands, and scales growing on her face.

"We don't belong here, either of us. Made to kill. We are different from Beasts, sure, but our purpose is the same. So, Child of Fire... Ready for a final Dance? Let me see your moves, eh? The moves of the one that ALMOST got away?"

"I didn't come.. to fight..." I managed to utter. The world was tilting ever so slightly, making it hard to stand. I had already lost too much blood, and fighting..? Me? I had none of my weapons, no whip and no spirits. And whatever she spoke of, Irony, I did not see myself as a Child of Fire. If anyone was to bear such a name, that would have to be Natsu Dragneel, my partner. He was beaten up now, though, but slowly standing up. Still ready to fight after the beating he had received. The words Vera had whispered to me. This better work, or I would personally kill her if we survived this one. Not very likely at the moment, but I guess my partner was created for these kinds of situations, after all. He merely needed a little.. push.

"Well, too bloody bad, for I need someone to fight me, and these boys you brought with you are a bit shabby at the moment. Don't worry, I'll kill 'em off quickly once we're done with our dance." just then Laxus once more launched himself at her, his fists raging lightning. She turned to him, Jérnsaxa, her eyes practically glowing with what I assumed to be hatred as she attacked him relentlessly, sending the man to the ground, hitting him and kicking him repeatedly further and further down, a round crater forming around he as he eventually ceased to move. All the while she spoke, her voice completely calm.

"Can't you see I'm busy TALKING, you dumb FUCKFACE? You were defeated LONG ago, not even a FUCKING real Dragon Slayer. Just lay down and wait for your turn to die, it will all be over shortly. Now, where were we? Oh, you don't wish to fight. What, is that fucker standing next to you going to fight for you? You want to make him DIE before you?" Natsu had at some point managed to walk over to me, his hands shaking without me knowing the exact reason. Was it rage, exhaustion or his ever present determination to beat the crap out of anyone that dared hurt the ones close to him? Or.. was it fear? Fear for this absolute defeat that was hanging above us like an ominous premonition?

"I..." by the hells, it was hard forming coherent sentences. Just do it. Do it now. Do it before exhaustion catches you, or worse, him. DO IT! I gulped, grabbed his hand, my partner. My friend. My BEST friend. The one that had taken such good care of me all this time. This was never to be spoken of again. Ever.

"Natsu..." he turned to me from where he had been standing in front of me in a sort of protecting stance, his eyes showing all I had thought he would feel. Rage. Exhaustion. Even fear. But burning way beyond that, the ever blazing determination. I couldn't fight. In the end, there was nothing else I could do but entrust it all to him. Of course. It usually ended like this. I could, however, in my current state, give him something he needed for the journey. For no Fairy is ever alone. We fight together, and we fight until the very end.

"Here goes..." I mumbled under my breath, and I pressed forward, took the guy that could handle everything by complete surprise as my lips met his. As Lucy Heartfilia I could do little but believe in him. As the Child of Fire however... Fire would help him. It was my only way of fighting in my current state. To look at his face though, those wide open eyes, his whole body frozen as he stared at me in disbelief. I would've expected a similar face if I suddenly grew a second head.

* * *

What was going on? What on EARTHLAND was going on? What was this? Why did... as if a jolt of electricity hit him he suddenly responded as his instincts decided that the brain did no good anyways, so why not just go with it? The boy with the scarf, the dense boy with no imagination really going in this particular direction, like.. EVER, suddenly opened his mouth without even knowing why, and his whole body probably got assaulted as the overflowing and massive amount of magic stored in the body of his partner suddenly decided to enter him instead. The two of them got surrounded by a ring of fire, growing in intensity before exploding outwards like a shockwave making an extensive cloud of dust. As the dust settled only one remained standing, a boy with red dragon scales and every sense of fear obliterated from his very self.

"Now this... THIS is interesting. Come at me, boy, show me how a REAL Dragons child fights!" and the dance of Dragons began.

Imagine a storm. Imagine howling wind, pouring rain and a roaring sky. Then imagine the wind being made out of deadly iron spikes. The rain is roaring fire, and the deep rumbling that is supposed to be thunder isn't thunder at all. It is the roaring of something much bigger than a mere lion or tiger or even a XXX. The sound itself penetrates the ground, make it shake like an earthquake, only intensified as the two that no longer would be considered human by most standards at the moment clashed and used their fists to crush trees, rock and ground alike. They were Dragon Slayers and submitted their very selves to the task of defeating the other.

"Fire Dragons roar!" the area was blinded and everything else disappeared as the flames licked the air, condensing the metal from the air. Irony managed to somehow move that agile body of hers out of the way, practically flying in the air, twisting like a cat and landing on the ground, roaring like a feral beast, making the ground shake. Natsu wasted no time, charged as soon as his assault had failed, his fist hitting her this time. Success. Shouts involving Iron Dragons and Fire Dragons filled the air, the rumbling grew, and the two stuck on the ground... Laxus managed to somehow muster enough power to get them out of the kill zone before it was too late, only getting a brief glance from the Fire Dragon Slayer that might or might not hold approval while he kept his dance up. This was more like it. This was how it was supposed to be.

Imagine two dragons. Imagine two ancient beasts tumbling around on the ground in a place called something as silly as the Forest Without Time. A forest named because that is what it is. A forest that remained through the ages, through terrible wars and eras of peace and prosper. Imagine the red one, the one that controls.. well, we all know what.. flies up in the air, then dives down, collides with the metal-colored one. They both hit the ground with a massive bang, clouds swirling darkly above them splitting up and spreading in a wide circle for then to dissipate completely. And there they are, the two monstrosities, now turned back to boy and girl, the boy straddling her with his fist raised, ready to strike if she should choose to continue fighting. His features wild, his skin slightly scaled. Her skin dark and scaly as well, though the scales are not covering her completely like a certain other that was known to conquer that very same metal. She might be strong, but faced the same dilemma as he had at some point. A damp, ancient forest. Little metal to go by around here, far off from the civilization that might've made her as good as indestructible.

"Are you going to finish me off, Dragon Slayer?" she asked, and smiled at him in a suggestive manner. Something clicked within him then, brought him back to the world of sanity, or at least the world that was more than just kicking, screaming and burning. Sure, his mind consisted of quite a lot of THAT too, but there was more. Things like food, and friends, and family. Loyalty. Even fear, deep down and well hidden, yet very real. This sudden return made him blink, a little surprised, as he lowered his fist. Killing was not the way of the Salamander. He had beaten her, and they both knew it. They had fought through fists, and he had emerged from the argument victorious, something he would've been a lot less susceptible to had it been verbal. The girl saw the change, and her smile softened, making her seem almost beautiful as her scales dissipated.

"..." verbal communication. Always such a hassle. What was the pink-haired Dragon Slayer to say? The girl already knew from his posture that he wouldn't go killing her off, and he knew that she knew. Irony chuckled, a chuckle that showed off that tinge of lunacy once more.

"I am Irony, and I have fought my entire life... to die." she smiles then, a smile that is far from lunatic nor ironic. A smile of someone that has found peace.

"You better run, Dragon Slayer, or you might find yourself decorating the forest floor..." a snap, and her neck broke, without him doing a thing.

"Irony.. IRONY!" he tried yelling, but she wasn't there anymore. Another crack, and her upper spine got crooked in a way he could only assume to be not right. He swore. He swore loudly and got off the girl, ran for the hills while cracks resounded behind him. Yes. The hills, considering the large round crater that surrounded them at the moment after that last attack. Got to get away got to get away shit shit shit SHIT! BOOM! And gone was Irony, the girl that was more than a Beast yet less than a Dragon. A boy with dark eyes and a scarf that surprisingly had survived the onslaught without as much as a scratch adorning his neck had managed to get away. Now... The night had fallen upon them, showing off a starry sky. Natsu Dragneel had won the battle as his battles usually ended, with a lot of blood spilling and a lot of bruising yet to come. And his partner, Lucy Heartfilia had once more managed to surprise him, even with the amount of trust he put on her already. Where was she, anyways? Oh yeah...

***_I have not started to write the next chapter. This means there might be some time before the next one is released. Of course, this might not be the case, my inspiration is working very efficiently at the moment, but just so you're warned. As it turned out this chapter became a lot longer than I would usually allow a chapter to be, but it wasn't long enough for me to cut it in half. So far only two chapters in "Forgotten" has gone beneath my personal limit of at least 2000 words, and I intend to keep it that way. Of course, the fake chapter was shorter, but that was a fake. Hardly any point in making it into a bloody novel now, is there?_

_Anyways, I appreciate the fact that you guys keep reading this old silly tale of mine, and your reviews really did make me feel all jolly and happy. I hope you all will continue reading it, though I don't exactly know where things are going right now. Have I ever... not really, no._

_Kissing scene. I need to put SOME romance in here in order to justify my theming. Not much, I know. Hope you liked it, none the less._

_One last thing. For those of you who might oppose those big pretty words when I tried describing the thoughts of Natsu Dragneel, I did describe them in third person for a reason. He isn't retarded, I know that, but.. yeah... They are descriptions of his thoughts, not his thoughts seen from his own perspective. I might've mentioned my lack of ability when it comes to describing actual combat. Forgive me for that. I tried making some mental pictures to make up for it. Jeez, this is a LONG chapter. Can't be helped. Hope you guys liked it. We shall meet again!_***


	22. A Talk Between Shadows

***_Side story. Kind of. Working somewhat besides the last chapter, then beyond. Yeah, I found this a good way of informing you guys while I think of possible continuations. I lost my bottle containing the water of life, makes me kind of sad... Might've been for the best, at least I found my way home in the end... Sorry, sidetracked. Okay, I usually try to give out my chapter somewhat around the same time every time. Not datewise, but clockwise. Well, fuck it. I'll give it out now while sipping my coffee and getting over the loss of my water of life._

_I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline. Just so you know, this is written in third person, mostly following the train of thoughts of Vera D. Homura_***

As the fight progressed and eventually neared its end, the woman in black sat squatting on one of the thicker branches on a tree that had escaped the carnage made by the little whippersnappers as they butted heads like little kiddies arguing about the last sand-bucket in the playground. She had to admit, though, they did show off some impressive muscles, even little Lucy with her flaming performance. Vera had known for quite some time that fire had little effect on the girl, like when she touched that match-stick that SHOULD have burned through skin and flesh. A mistake from Veras side, she had been ready to flee from what would become one shrieking mass of tears and blood and blisters. Not that it ended that way. No. The girl had remained unharmed. Who would've guessed?

"Where did you head off to?" she muttered, aware of the presence that was the male that had been standing next to her around the time she resuscitated the girl with a jolt of concentrated magic mass. It had to hurt. Had to hurt like a bitch, as she had warned. The boy had disappeared shortly afterwards, to the gods knew where, without her even noticing how. It intrigued her to no end.

"Nowhere in particular..." the boy answered in a monotone voice, not showing any kind of emotion. Not that she wouldn't have seen any even if she turned to look at him, since she knew he still wore that dark cloak of his, a cloak with a hood that hid all signs of emotion, together with all that would make her recognise him. His whole face remained hidden but his chin, the only indication she had of his age. Young. Another child.

"And who are you anyways?" she asked instead, since that was a good question. Sure, he had given her someone to talk to. The fleeting sensation of not knowing something had amused her for a while, but it had passed, and she wanted to know again. Lack of knowledge could be as much a burden as it could be annoying.

"I am not someone you need to know about." again he answered with that emotionless voice, not giving any information away.

"No fair." she pouted.

"Life seems to be.. unfair.. at times." he agreed, irking here more by the second.

"So you know them?" fine, a change of subject might loosen that tongue of his.

"Depends on your interpretation of knowing."

"Why are you here?" he could at least answer THAT much, could he not? Not that any answer would give much sense if he intended to keep everything else hidden.

"To see to that certain things are left in the dark, while other things stay in the light." he replied. She was right, it made no fucking sense.

"Ever the cryptic, aren't you?"

"I have been told so, yes."

"..." REALLY?

"What do you want, Vera?" he asked after a while in the silence, and she stole a glance at him where he stood on the branch as if doing so was the most natural thing in the world. He was indeed still donning that hood of his. Pale skinned. A youngster with the vocabulary of a senior.

"See, no fair, you know who I am, yet I don't know who you are!" perhaps guilt-tripping would help?

"I know many things, and there are many things that I do not know." on the other side, perhaps not.

"Is that your way of saying that I should be pleased with what I DO know?"

"If believing that would please you, then yes." this fellow was starting to positively piss her off with his mysterious aura that put hers to shame.

"Did you know what Lucy is?" Fine. If he refused to share anything of his past or his purpose, then perhaps he would share with her the knowledge he had of little Lucy, what the metally predator had called the Child of Fire. That HAD to be some kind of misunderstanding, after all.

"Yes, and no." he replied. Was that a hint of sadness in his never ending monotone? Had she finally reached through to him?

"So she is an elemental Beast, pretty much?" a Beast with the element of a Dragon Slayer. Almost a Dragon in human form. If this was like she feared, the girl must've lived though hell. Worse than hell. Humans STILL did this to members of their own species? A DISCUSTING race, humans. Not only did they reek, but they possessed an imagination for cruelty that long surpassed that of any other race.

"You are correct, yet you are mistaken." the boy continued, ripping Vera out of her dark musings, and she saw the hood move ever so slightly, as if he was moving to look at her.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked in a hiss. If she was correct, then there was nothing to be mistaken about.

"It means what it means. She is what you believe that she is, yet she is not." he said, and his hood moved again. Towards the direction where she knew Lucy and that second generation Dragon Slayer currently would be sitting and waiting for the boy that just escaped the Dragon Force and now sat straddling the artificial Iron Dragon Slayer while.. talking? The hooded boy ignored it as loud cracks filled the air, followed by swearing as the scarfed boy barely managed to escape before the body of the girl he had been straddling self-detonated. They still do that, huh... Vera looked at the boy again. His gaze hadn't wavered. So she thought, in any case. Not like she could actually see it.

"So you came to watch her win?" she asked silently, and she thought she saw his chin stretch into a smile. So he did have emotions, did he?

"It is not yet a victory, and it did not happen by her hand. Yet her hand was what changed the victor." he answered. His voice held a certain degree of warmth. Surely, he knew little Lucy. He had some kind of bond with her. He was not, however, a Fairy Tail mage. Of that she was certain.

"What you just said contradicts itself."

"It does, yet it does not."

"So, you didn't come to watch Lucy or whoever win. What ARE you doing here?" she tried again. Was that a faint reaction to her name? Interesting...

"I already told you."

"The light and the dark. What the hell does that mean?!" She wanted to hit this man. REALLY hard. That might, however, kill him on the spot.

"It means that I came to prevent a certain something to occur, Vera. It is late, however, so I am staring to question the accuracy of the prediction brought to me. It was supposed to happen just after the storm."

"Prediction... as in what?" she kept asking, but didn't really expect an answer. It surprised her when he provided her with one, albeit an obscure one.

"That something will eradicate the shadows of those that will eradicate eternal darkness."

"So a bright light will kill off those kids and because of that some evil power will rise?" she tried translating, seeing how he was more susceptible to answering yes or no answer. Though most of them were answered with both. What an annoying kid he was.

"You are bright despite your age." he commented, that hint of a smile briefly showing itself again. Despite her AGE?!

"I'm not sure whether to feel flattered by your assumption that I am young or if I should worry about your actual age."

"I know who you are, Vera D. Homura." he emphasised his point by spelling out her full name.

"Figured. That brings me back to my second point. How old are YOU?"

"You do not need to know." he replied.

"You might be right 'bout that, but I WANT to know."

"I do not wish to share that information with you." this was like a fucking guessing game. So he basically didn't want to tell her his name. Why didn't he just say so...

"Well fuck off, then. No way are you older than me."

"You might be right, and you might be mistaken." another double answer form the cryptic boy. Fine, she would let the matter of his age rest.

"So what will kill the young ones?" back to the more pressing matter. Someone, or something, was evidently after the lot of them. However bored Vera might be at times, deaths topped the list of things she disliked occurring. Disfigurement, sure. The occasional torture session, when boredom got her then sure. Death. Too final. Too unchangeable.

"That which is known to penetrate the darkness since the beginning of time." that which penetrates the darkness... By the gods she wanted to hit him. But wait, she knew this one, her eyes widening.

"A star?" she said while staring at the sky. There was indeed a shining light up there that was brighter than it should be. Fuck.

"Once more, you show your intellect." and again, the voice suggested a slight hint of surprise, the hidden insult pissing her off. But other things were more important.

"A STAR will fall from the heavens and kill Lucy and those Dragon Slayers? How do you plan to stop THAT?!" she exclaimed as he merely stretched his back, cracked his knuckles tryingly.

"It is merely a rock, Vera. I am certain that you do not fear such inanimate objects." he said it as if the rock.. oh a meteorite then, not a star.. but still a FREAKING HUGE DEAL, was amongst the most avoidable catastrophies out there.

"It is a swift FLYING rock that FLIES unbelievably fast. It could probably wipe this whole forest up if it had the size of a baseball!" did he not see that? Did he know nothing of the destructive power this kind of inanimate rock held?

"Indeed. It would erase all shadows in the area." he replied, his voice once more a monotone.

"Old people and shadows. What's up with that?" and he had sidetracked her again. And why did she accept the fact that he was old all of a sudden? And whoever told her old people had a thing for shadows?!

"If it has no shadow, it has no form, and that without form is without proper life. It would seem my time is here. I bid you farewell, Vera D. Homura, the one who bears the name of one of the ancient ones." he took off his hood, revealing short, black hair and a pale, flawless skin. He smiled a smile at her, a smile that seemed old and young, sad and happy at the same time. No wonder he kept speaking of contradictions, he was a walking contradiction himself. His eyes had seen so much, endured so much. She almost felt like losing herself in the shining silver grey that shone up at her, making her flinch long enough for him to turn, look down at the ground, readying himself to flee from her presence into whatever he believed himself able to prevent.

"Hey, where're you going!" but the being paid no heed, jumped down from the tree and was gone in the next moment as a light started to light up the skies.

"Shit... time to go!" and gone was she, the being with the name of one of the ancient ones.

* * *

Finally, the fight was over, at least for now, thus enabling the three Fairy Tail mages, or two present and one FORMER Fairy Tail mage (the former one actually left a little while ago, though the fire mage had failed to notice), to sit down and breathe for a while. Lucy had fallen asleep at some point, her fever slowly rising, but still remaining on a somewhat manageable level. For all they knew it might even be her general body temperature stabilizing in light of recent events. Lucy, the apparent Child of Fire. Night was descending on them, merely shown though the stars that had popped up on the clear skies. A truly magnificent sight, far from any civilization that would've contaminated the light from the oldest light-sources known to both man and beast.

And then, as they sat there in the heart of the forest, a star grew in the skies. Bigger and bigger it got, until the boy, the only one that remained conscious to see it, realized that the object in the skies was heading right for them. It was, however, too late. Too late to run away. Too late to even set up any form of defensive stance. The star hit with full force, a bright light enveloping the Forest of No Time. For the longest moment everything was light and utter silence. The first change to occur was the shaking. A shaking like no other felt in the whole existence of Fiore, followed by a rumbling so deep as if the Earth itself was a Dragon of ancient times that now had come back to life.

A shockwave moved faster than any runner, spread throughout the forest, beyond its limits, continued on, even creating an unpleasant breeze that moved through the Guildhall belonging to the single Magic guild in Magnolia. The Master that had been sipping yet another beer on the counter looked up suddenly as a shiver went down his spine, a terrible premonition overcoming him and making him seem even older than he actually was, quite a feat when considering his age.

The dust cleared over the place that since times immemorial had remained untouched by the wars of men. There, right in front of the two of them, stood a being, his silver eyes lighting the area up almost as much as the rock he held in his raised hand.

"That.. was close." he muttered in a monotone voice, an old smile showing off his slightly pointy teeth.

***_Did you see what I did there? Yes, I integrated the fake chapter into the story, suddenly making it almost legit. I am officially awesome. Do you hate it? If you do, then... Well, not not much I can do about that, perhaps except listening to your rants. Is this a cliffhanger? I'll let you be the judge of that, but I reckon a big fat KIND OF. Do I plan on continuing this story? Well, DUH. Can't end it like this. That is a LAME ending, and I am sure you guys would agree. So we shall meet again. I will not promise ANYTHING. If I did, I would most likely be a liar, but I do hope to update it sometime in the not too distant future. In the meanwhile I shall continue working on this and other chapters. I think I just hit the maximum number of submitted documents again... Which ones should I remove..._***


	23. Road Signs

***_Sometimes I do wonder, what is the point of this story? I recently had to revise it once more, but I might go back to the previous idea. The point of the story, I mean, just to clear that one up. Not the original point, of course, that would be ridiculous and outright absurd. The newest plans require so much effort, however, so I think I will revise it. Yes. Sounds like a good idea. Yes. Hm. Or perhaps I should do that other thing instead? Decisions, so many to take and so little time._

_Not sure if you liked the last chapter or not. Guess it was kind of boring, mostly consisting of a conversation between two people no one really knows who is. Strange, I know. I need some completely random chapters sometimes too, though, and the thought of making my mock chapter sort of real turned out to be too tempting for me. Hey, I scared a few before I revealed the scam, though I hardly left anyone hanging for long, but I might as well use everything I got._

_I do not own Fairy Tail, nor the characters or its storyline. Why would I, anyways? Too much effort and peer pressure and plans and.. ugh. I get tired even thinking about it. This is the next chapter, though, and perhaps you guys will like it. Or perhaps not. Do I like making sense? Why no, no I do not. Do I like messing with you? Why yes, you should be aware of this already without me pointing out that glaringly obvious fact. Onwards we go, to the story, in.._***

THE FOREST WITHOUT TIME, IN SOME CLEARING WITH A SINGLE TREE IN THE MIDDLE

"..." we stared at the newly arrived face. I had woken up due to the massive explosion that had blasted through the woods. And the light. I still felt his presence, though, sitting next to me, so I knew I wasn't alone. The man standing there in front of us was wearing long, black pants fitted loosely around his legs and secured by a silver-studded belt. He wore a long cloak, open at the moment and with the hood down, showing his pale face and just as pale abdomen. His right hand was extended above his head, holding a shiny blue rock of sorts, perhaps the size of a baseball. His face was sort of skinny, his eyes being perhaps the most prominent feature, a bright silver color that sparkled with amusement. His grin lit up his face as well, showing off those sort of sharper than normal teeth. Reminded me of Natsu, sort of. The grin. The white teeth. That aura of absolute confidence.

"Who're you?" Natsu asked, and the boy smiled. He didn't seem like a person that wished to do us any harm, but if he did... Neither I nor Natsu were in any state to take up the fight. I had a hole in my abdomen for starters, and Natsu.. the fact that he was still alive really was an accomplishment. We would manage, though. We always did. As long as that boy decided to leave us unscathed.

"No one of importance. Thought I would stop by, however, to give you something that might come in handy. Think fast." he used his free hand and tossed something that glimmered towards us. I was tired, but managed to somehow lift my hand in order to catch it. The object made a sound of metal against metal, and I felt myself pale when I recognized... My keys. How did he..? When..

"Don't worry, your spirits are okay, I have caused them no harm." he said as if reading my mind, and finally lowered his hand to stare at the shining piece of what I assumed to be a rock.

"Hm, who'd've known, it IS the size of a baseball," he muttered, mostly to himself. What?

"Ah, pardon me, just something someone said to me earlier. Mind me sitting down? Do not worry, I am NOT getting closer. I merely hate standing without anything to do is all. Talking is hardly anything to DO, after all, other than moving my mouth. And moving my mouth does not require standing." he smiled while saying it, and sat down without waiting for our answer, not getting closer as he had promised, all the while holding that rock of his. Calmly he crossed his legs and took a solid chunk of the mysteriously glowing substance in his hand, chewed it loudly.

"Tastes quite alright, surprisingly enough. What is it, little Lucy, cat got your tongue?" did he ever stop smiling, the boy? It seemed almost unnatural, as if he was facing injured animals. That might be it. Did he think we would be afraid? He didn't want us to feel cornered in his presence, trapped like wild animals in a cage. When I looked at m partner for a moment I sensed his reasoning. Natsu didn't want to fight. He was in no condition to fight. Still, he seemed to be slowly preparing to do just that. Something told him that this person might be dangerous. And I got why. We were in the middle of nowhere, when suddenly a random stranger appeared. A stranger eating slightly illuminated rocks that might or might not have fallen from the skies. I weren't too certain if that image had been from a dream, after all, the rock falling from the skies part. The rock had lost some of its gleam now, but still made his eyes glimmer. A strange boy, seemingly our age, yet not. Something was off about him. He clearly wasn't just a boy that happened to pass by. The REAL question, though, was he an enemy?

"Who are you?" I repeated my partners words, since the stranger never DID answered the question.

"Like I said, no one of importance," he repeated, took another bite off the rock in his hand.

"What's your name?" I tried then. Maybe he would loosen up a little if I tried another kind of question.

"That would depend... I have many names, after all."

"One of them?" I pleaded.

"Well, if your name is Blaze, my name would be Tundra, little Lucy. Of course, your name is NOT Blaze, thus my name is NOT Tundra. Simple."

"Tundra, huh... Well, nice to meet you." I smiled brightly, and he chuckled. Humor sparkled from his eyes before he went back to a neutral kind of amusement.

"Right back at you, little Lucy. Nice to meet that friend of yours too, son of Igneel if I am correct?"

"Natsu. Name's Natsu, Tundra," Natsu interjected. He seemed to calm down a little. Good. We'd been fighting enough without having another wild beastlike being on our hands. ONE was quite enough.

"Yes, so I have heard. Quite the rebel, that father of yours, at least according to my sources. And before you ask, no, I have never had the pleasure of meeting him, nor do i know of his whereabouts. How are you doing after facing Irony? Quite the tough one, Irony. You must have done some real damage in order to trigger the curse that dislocated her spine, severing her nerves before exploding, leaving no trace of her behind." he said, elaborating quickly his knowledge concerning the Dragon he had mentioned before going on to matters he seemed to be more interested in. It was as if he was guiding Natsu onto that genre, Natsu, of course, following unknowingly and gladly. Or angrily, depending on the perspective.

"You mean that was supposed to happen?" there was a chill in his voice while he asked the question. A warning, and a dare to continue down the path Tundra was heading in this conversation.

"Of course. If anyone ever managed to best her, she was supposed to best them with a blast. She knew too, that silly girl." and Tundra took up the challenge without even flinching.

"You mean someone MADE her so she would die if she ever got beaten?!" Natsu was getting angry now. I could see why. Using a person like that... For the first time something flickered over his features, so quickly I hardly saw it before it was gone. Rage? It disappeared before i could tell for certain. During this whole time his voice had remained so.. neutral. Almost emotionless, even with that smile trying to keep us calm. He was failing to do so too, telling us about Irony being a bomb set to explode if she ever was to fail.

"Of course they did. Humans are funny that way, torturing is not enough to satisfy them. Of course, by severing most of her nerves before blasting her off she only suffered briefly before becoming nothing." for the first time, the calm voice became a lot scarier than any shouting voice the boy could have produced.

"Okay, deep breath. I promised not to get cross with you today, nor the individual that brought you here in the first place. I did NOT want that curse to be placed on the girl, but I respect her wish. She wanted to die, and she wanted to die honorably. In her belief, or religion if you like, that is death in battle. Not many people could have offered a battle fierce enough to grant her that, so for that I owe you one. I have not talked this much for years... You always got me talking, little Lucy, yet I do not know how..." wait, he knew me as well? Now when I thought about it, he too called me little Lucy, just like Vera. And Irony had even claimed that I gave her that nickname. And now she was gone. How sad was that? She tried killing me. She wanted to beat me to a pulp and kill everyone in the area. Yet she died. I only wanted for Natsu to beat her, and I knew Natsu well enough to know he wanted the same. A fight, sure. Death, no. And she had wanted it. What could bring a person so fierce and full of fight to the brink where she just wanted it to end? *torture is not enough to satisfy them*. Tundra had said that, word by word. Torture. Irony had been tortured. That made sense, sort of. Torture that eventually cost her her sanity.

"Why are you here?" was he here to merely rile us up for then to fight us? WHY would he do that? Why would he appear before us like this after a victory that was no victory at all, just to mock us? And was it really mockery, or was he trying to give us the information we wanted through cryptic conversation? He didn't seem like the kind of person that would give us anything in a straight sentence.

"Roadsign." he replied. One simple word.. and it made no sense whatsoever. He most definitely would give us no straight answers though. I think he like making us guess.

"What?"

"Like I said, road-sign. I would very much like to stay for a longer chat, little Lucy, but that will have to wait for another time. When we meet again, I promise to tell you some mighty good stories. Now however, it would seem the cavalry have caught up with us. Still green, but not as green as some." with a final bite the boy in black finished the rock he had been eating off, if it was indeed a rock and not something else, and got up on his feet. So this WASN'T a longer chat? Sure seemed that way to me...

"Worry not, son of Igneel, there are not too many of us out there, and fewer still that know that the Child of Fire lives. I will not increase that number if I can help it, nor should you. And yes, little Lucy, your magic should be pretty much back to normal now, those stars should be obeying you just fine once more." and with that, he wandered into the woods. I think I saw him vanish into thin air as soon as he passed a few trees in the distance, all the trees but the one we were sitting and leaning against were a fair way away from this odd clearing I had forgotten the reason why we decided to rest at in the first place, but at least the boy had the decency to at least give off the illusion to be normal in contrast to Vera that openly liked showing off her qualities as a being that was by no means normal.

Five minutes passed in silence.

"What do you think he meant when he said cavalry?" I asked just to clear the awkward silence, and he shrugged, grimaced a bit when the movement made his muscles ache. We both relaxed more now when the strange boy had gone, and I think we both silently agreed that this had been a LONG day. Yeah, we had been beaten pretty badly. Moving about hurt, which was why we had decided to take a break, even with the odd choice of resting area. Just so we could steel us for the long walk home. I doubted that Vera would be returning any time soon to aid us, wasn't in her ways to aid us unless absolutely necessary.

"Dunno. Let's just hope it's not the actual cavalry, or we'll have some explaining to do," he laughed, sort of pained, and I joined him. Yeah, we'd have a shitload of explaining to do. Now when the weird guy had left we could relax, face the pain that awaited us and laugh at the absurdity of it all. We were stuck, in the middle of some forest, beaten almost to smithereens after breaking and burning down a large part of mentioned forest, without knowing our way out and now maybe waiting for some kind of cavalry that probably would want to know what we did here in the first place, not to mention HOW we got here. Telling said someone that a crazy lady zapped us here hardly seemed plausible unless they had encountered said crazy lady already. Vera was what I would prefer to call ORIGINAL, that being a kind of nice word for it.

"NATSU!" someone was yelling in the distance, putting our laughing to a halt. Might be a good thing, laughing kind of hurt. Wasn't that..?

"LUCY!" another call, another voice. Male this time. Indeed, that was.. a figure appeared in the clearing, black of hair and wearing.. nothing. There was no doubt about it.

"OI, I FOUND THEM!" Gray Fullbuster yelled, and he started running towards us, soon followed by a racing Erza Scarlet that ran to catch up with him, got to his side, then hit him so hard in the head he almost got pushed into the ground as he collapsed. And above her. Was that Happy? She tossed Gray some clothing that she had pulled up from.. the gods knew where, then continued up to us while muttering loudly about Gray needing to put some damn clothes on. She stopped in front of us, looking possibly furious, possibly relieved. Not too sure which. Possibly both. Happy managed to fly right into his fathers arms, crying and blabbering incoherent sentences.

"You look like shit." Gray pointed out as he made his way up to us, now decent enough for me to actually look at him. A sight for sore eyes.

"Shut up, icicles." Natsu retorted and sent his friend and enemy a glare. At least he had the strength to insult the guy. Gray seemed pleased by that too. We'd be alright after some major patching up and perhaps a week of sleeping.

"How did you find us?" I asked Erza while ignoring the boys throwing insults at each other, all while the ice mage helped the fire mage to his feet. Erza helped me up too, taking most of my weight while trying to avoid hurting me too much. Every movement made my aches and muscles scream in protest. I would feel this for a while.

"Gildarts managed to pinpoint your location to this forest, so we set out the same day you disappeared."

"This forest is HUGE though, would've taken us ages to find you if it hadn't been for that weird dude." Gray added as we started walking.

"What weird dude?" I asked and winced a bit when the uneven ground made me wobble more than usual for a second. I had a feeling I knew who, though. Not too many weird dudes hanging about.

"Some strange fellow that showed up a little while ago, kept appearing from seemingly nowhere and carrying a sign that said THIS WAY FOR STARS AND DRAGONS. He even knew our names, which was why we decided to follow him," she said. Ah. Road-sign. He meant that literally, did he? Appeared so.

"Where are we?" I continued, chose to not pursue the strange acts of the boy calling himself Tundra any further.

"Yeah... we might want to hurry up getting out of this forest. This is a sealed area, off limits to anyone." Gray answered, and sped up to emphasize his point.

"Who sealed it?"

"The Magic Council." Erza said, also speeding up, now merely picking my whole body from the ground since she found the pace too slow. Oh. OOOHH... We weren't where I thought we'd be. Well, I should've noticed with the day working somewhat normally, normal being relative, and nighttime actually occurring. This wasn't the forest that was affected by the ancient magic that slowed down time itself. And with this being forbidden land the actual cavalry might not be too far off. Why did we always end up in situations like these?

***_Some humor, some mystery and some drama. What story doesn't need those three aspects? I don't know. Is this the end, perhaps? It kind of does have that vibe, after all. To me, in any case. I will have to think a while until I can come up with a possible continuation. At least I didn't leave at a cliffhanger, so I am feeling sort of nice here._

_I have tried to maintain the characters of this story within their actual characters, though a few changes had to be made every now and then. For instance, when Lucy lost her memories I had to change her because she had lost a lot of key ingredients that made her, well, her. Like memories. Besides, when you remember next to nothing you get kind of reserved because you're frightened and whatnot. Some people also acted somewhat out of characters when faced with situations they hadn't encountered before. I know, I know, excuses. In any case, if I have failed in this quest of mine, then I apologize, but that means that it just didn't lie within my ability to keep them somewhat true to themselves._

_Will there be a continuation? I sure hope so, it would be sad parting with this story after so long. It is my first story after all, and it reached the largest number of readers amongst all my stories. With good reason too, this is the one I have planned out the most. So we will hopefully meet again at some point, after I have found a path to follow. Until then!_

_Bwahahaha, just kidding. The next one almost done already!_***


	24. Back To Normal?

***_HAH! I made it again. I am awesome, I tell you, AWESOME! Of course, my awesomeness is going to my head, but it will pass. It usually does when I meet some kind of dead end. NOT YET, I hope. ANOTHER day! Okay, so I MIGHT be an arrogant bastard sometimes, but that's why you love me. I'll dedicate this story to Disappear500 because you're awesome too. You know why? Just 'cause!_

_I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline. I'm just giving you guys a story. Or, in this case, a CHAPTER belonging to a story. The characters and the storyline that Hiro Mashima made does not belong to me. This story is mine, though, and I intend to make the characters dance some more for me. Entertainment at its best, and HERE we come!_***

It took a week before I felt things falling back to normal, if Fairy Tail could ever be described by such a dull word. Finally, I thought. Thankfully, we managed to avoid the watchful eyes of the council, though they came snooping about around day three after our return, asking questions and digging up information in order to expose us. I think they knew the truth, but without proof we could not be blamed for the destruction brought to one of the oldest forests in Magnolia, the Forest Without Time. Natsu and I still remained bedridden at the time, Natsu still unconscious, thus avoiding the interview the investigators wanted to have with him.

Turned out the sense of time was kind of odd in that forest too, but only because night and day is shifting irregularly. We had been there in a relatively calm period, but our sense of time still suffered due to the somewhat irregular hours. Time inside and outside the forest still remained similar though. We never discovered the reason why a headless corpse was hung up in a clearing next to a steep rock stretching up a good thirty or forty meters, probably never would. Not sure I wanted to know. Might be some ritual of sorts. Or a warning. But to whom? Thankfully the time passed with the same speed INSIDE the forest as outside it, in contrast to the forest where I encountered the Thing. A day there was a day here. Had it been the same as THAT forest we could've stayed there for days. Weeks even.

As to Vera, other than her gag with the matchsticks and the incident where she abducted me, Natsu and Laxus she hadn't shown her face again. So far, at least. A silent agreement grew between me and Natsu not to mention the things that happened in that forest, other than our encounter with an enemy that the both of us had defeated.

So here I sat, in my apartment that had been payed for for a while, as in a few months according to my landlady, and by me no less, in a chair, alone for once, studying that very box of matches while wondering what to do next. It was nice to be back home. Nice to be back to normal. My spirits had recovered, and I could summon them again, something I had been unable to for some time before my keys were returned by Tundra. That was a secret I didn't want to share with anyone, that brief period of time when I had feared that maybe, somehow, my stunt with the fire magic had crippled me for life. How terrible it would have been to lose every ounce of magic power, such a large chunk of my identity. I would've had to quit the guild. Get a job. Ugh... thank the gods that didn't end up being the case.

Fire. Fire had always fascinated me to no end. Fascinated me because it was so alive, so vivid. So dangerous, yet so vital in everyones daily life. My Father had tried really hard to rid me of that fascination. He called it dangerous, undignified and very unladylike thank you very much. He hadn't managed to ladify my yet when I met Vera at that ball, but he had managed to make me behave more like a girl later on. The downside of living isolated in a place where everybody said the same without anyone ever taking my side. Oh, the servants loved me. They shared gossip, kept secrets and gave me candy whenever my father wasn't watching. But my fascination for that which could kill me, that they disapproved of. They talked of the great fire when I was very young. A fire I didn't remember, but that supposedly had been deadly for some. I had almost been amongst those who died, so I should consider myself lucky and keep away from matchsticks, campfires and any kind of living fire. But fire didn't hurt me like it did the others. I was careful, and I kept my fingers void of any burns. What they didn't know didn't hurt them, right? As the years passed I finally gave in to their pleas and numerous preaches against what they considered self-destructive behavior. At least while i remained under that roof.

Then I ran away. I had had enough of that suffocating atmosphere, that ever looming shadow that would watch over me at all times. I wanted to be a mage. I wanted to go on adventures. I wanted to liver happily ever after. Childish thoughts, sure, and I knew deep down that happily ever after didn't just contain never ending bliss. It was tough though, at first. Earning my own money. Walking around alone. I gathered my spirits and wanted to join a guild. I trained hard to meet the requirements. Fine, so I didn't know exactly what these requirements were, but I trained to get stronger anyways. Because there HAD to be some requirements involved when joining a guild, and I had my eyes set on one particular guild, one of the most infamous guild in the whole of Fiore.

While I wandered the land looking for keys, I met him. Natsu Dragneel, a mage I had read about in a magazine. A guy with magic one couldn't just buy in some magic store. Magic like the kind I possessed. Sure, there were few celestial mages around, their numbers ever dwindling, but it didn't change the fact that my keys could be bought in a store. Natsu told me something I hadn't heard in a while. He was a Dragon Slayer. I accepted the tale. Why not, I had met one before. It brought a smile to my face when I thought back to that crazy woman that had tricked me with promises of magic tricks and untold stories. Of course, I didn't tell him of this, for he was a stranger, and how odd would it seem telling the boy that I had indeed met a woman with that very same magic he had. Soon he lost the status off stranger, became a friend, then family, then partner. Somewhere in there the thoughts of Vera slipped my mind. She was a tale of old, and I was busy spinning one of my own with the notorious guild named Fairy Tail. The guild of my dreams.

"Magic tricks, huh..." I muttered to myself, and put the little box of matches on the coffee table again, the little golden stars glimmering in the light from the ceiling. Quite some time had passed while I mused over these recent events, and I REALLY needed a bath. Or a shower. Preferably both. Sounded like a splendid idea, just washing all my troubles away in some scorching hot water. And by the gods, I was tired.

* * *

"A nothing like a nice, warm bath in my own.. Cana?!" and yes, there she was, Cana Alberone, sitting in the bathtub with me. Where did she come from? Why did EVERYONE enter her house as if it had a huge sign saying GO AHEAD, BREAK IN. I sat down in the bathtub anyways, resigned to my fate as a Fairy Tail member with an open to everyone apartment. At least at the moment.

"I'm considering quitting the guild," and the sort of awkward atmosphere with the two of us sharing a bath just became more awkward. Or rather than awkward, more like unpleasant.

"Why?" I asked. What would make Cana break into my apartment in order to announce that she wanted to leave the guild she had grown up in? She had to have a good reason. I really hoped she had good reason. Wait, no I didn't. I wanted it to be a joke. I didn't want there to be a reason for Cana to leave. She was family. My family, just like the rest of them.

"..." awkward silence.

"Do you often baths together with people like this?" she asked, and I sighed. In no mood to talk, huh?

"Do you often break into peoples houses like this?" I countered, a nice touché for her mindless question. More awkward silence commenced. Then Cana got up, wrapped one of my towels around her body, ready to leave.

"Oi, Cana, you can stay for some tea if you want. And... you can borrow some clothes." considering how you apparently don't have any. I chose to not say those last words. How did she get here without clothes? Didn't know, wasn't too sure I wanted to know. Since she already DID break into my place in that state though, I saw no reason not to help out a little. A crazy whacked out family I had, but I loved them all none the less. They were MY whacked out family after all.

"Nah, I have places to be, but thanks for offering, kid." she ruffled my head and left, still wearing nothing by MY towel. This was probably part of the reason why I always ran out of towels. That, and a stripping pervert, an idiot that liked playing superheroes and a yankee that destroyed them on pointy and VERY sharp weapons. It was a miracle this house still remained standing.

* * *

And talking about idiots...

"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT SNEAKING INTO MY HOUSE!" was my usual war-cry that was his only warning before I kicked Natsu in the head while holding my towel firmly as if my life depended on it.

"YOU. OUT. NOW." I said loudly before leaving the corpse like creature bleeding out on the floor while I went to make some tea.

"Lucy, there's no more fish in the fridge!" Happy sounded as I entered the kitchen.

"I had one right there in the fridge... You ate my fish didn't you." I sighed once more in defeat today, filled the kettle with water and set it on the stove.

"I swear, you guys are going to ruin me one day... especially the way you two EAT..." and then there was Erza. And Gray. And CANA, as it turned out.

"Come on, Luce, don't be mean," Natsu spoke from the bedroom, and I peeked out of the kitchen, saw Natsu sitting on the floor chewing candy from my secret stash.

"Want some tea?" I asked while holding back the urge to punch him again for talking about being mean while he KEPT EATING MY FOOD. He looked up and smiled one of his most innocent smiles saying SURE. Fine. I would make him some tea, THEN I would kick his sorry ass out of my apartment.

"You llllike him." Happy purred behind me.

"I will pluck your whiskers, cat," I warned him back, not really in the mood for his teasing. When was I ever?

Back in the kitchen I took some tea from the cupboard, got a spoon, took the kettle from the stove, moved it towards the bench where the tea waited. Screamed loudly when I realized I was holding the thing with my bare hands. Down it fell, onto the floor, spilling boiling water everywhere, making me jump around like some mad idiot since my bare feet didn't exactly react so kindly to the warmth. In the process my towel fell to the ground and soaked it all up, making me calm down enough to notice Natsu standing by the door, frozen in place. One. Two. Three.

"YOU ARE DEAD!"

* * *

"I'm sorry..." muttered a slightly frightened Dragon Slayer where he sat next to me, his cat cowering beside him. We both sat in the sofa, me wearing a blanket to cover myself while staring at my partner grudgingly.

"Pervert." I muttered darkly, then stopped to look at that box covered with small stars and glitter. It was the only proof that remained of Veras existence, other than the memories. The only thing making her real, that odd creature that she was.

"Hey... Your burns okay?" Natsu asked tryingly, and I looked at him. He seemed almost worried. Or he tried making me soften up to him so he could avoid getting killed, again.

"I'm fine. Just go home already."

"Come on, Luce, I said I was sorry..."

"You got a house of your own, don't you?"

"..." he was about to say something when he apparently changed his mind, grabbed hold of my hands instead. I swear, if he did something even slightly suspicious he WOULD fly out of that window whether or not it was open, and it just might not be at the moment. He would pay for the cost of that window, too. To my surprise, he merely studied my hands, studied them, looking for the burns I knew weren't there.

"Natsu." I tried protesting. He didn't say anything, but let my hands go. His brows knitted together for a moment, as if thinking deeply over something.

"You llllike her," came the cat, and the moment was over, I swore again that those whiskers were going to get plucked, and we were up for another race around the living room, the cat in question wailing about me being mean. Well I'd give him MEAN!

* * *

Alas, before I knew what was going on, here I was. Clad in my pink pajamas, glaring at a soundly sleeping Natsu that had gone to the world of dreams in MY bed. AGAIN. When would I ever learn?

"Well, glad to see you're all better..." I muttered. It had taken him some time recovering from that adventure the two of us had gone on. Sure, Wendy had healed most of our wounds, but the magical exhaustion wasn't to be messed around with. He had been sleeping for days, and only made his way over for the first time yesterday, also falling asleep soundly in my bed, to my annoyance. I had taken the sofa for once, giving him some slack, but TWO nights in a row? Not that we had slept much that night, either of us...

**FLASHBACK TIME, FOLKS!**

I got discharged from the hospital after being thoroughly checked by both Wendy and Porlyusca to look for any possible injuries they've might've missed. Since I'd been sleeping in Natsu had already left by the time I left for the guild, and when I got there I found out he had left for a mission. Well... that was fast. Guess he ran out of money for food. I needed to go for some shopping too, so after hanging out at the guild for a while I left for the mall where I bought enough food to last for a week. Perhaps some fish too, some dinner for tomorrow. Just a sandwich today, perhaps, since it was getting sort of late.

The sun had already set when I arrived home, only to find the door unlocked. Normal people might freak out, or start believing they forgot to lock the door. Me? Only two possible solutions presented themselves for me. Either my friends broke in when they retrieved my stuff that I had at the hospital and forgot locking the door afterwards, or I would have a surprise waiting for me when I got in. They got to stop doing that...

"Really..?" I muttered when I entered the bedroom and found the culprit, a sleeping Natsu in my bed, his cat nowhere to be seen for whatever reason. I would've thought Happy would be pretty glued to him after the kidnapping where he had been excluded. Apparently not. I sighed loudly, but went to the kitchen to unload my groceries. Afterwards I made myself a sandwich which I ate in silence at my kitchen table. Then I changed into my Pajamas, grabbed a blanket and settled in the sofa.

"I'll let you have the bed this ONCE, so be thankful, alright?" I muttered before closing my eyes, preparing for a long night.

* * *

(time-skip, flashback still ongoing. I will announce it when it ends, my little dearies)

The sofa was uncomfortable, making it hard to find a comfortable position so i could actually sleep. Therefore I kept phasing between being half awake and sleeping restlessly. It was one of those half awake periods when I heard Natsu shift in his bed, tossing and turning and quite apparently not having the best of dreams. I were just deciding whether to ignore it in order to try and actually sleep or get up to see if I could help when he shouted, loud and clear. My name. A nightmare involving me. Understandable when considering the amount of almost deaths recently. On the other hand, not really, we almost died all the time without it bothering him much. Nightmares had never really bothered the guy, perhaps except that ONE time, a good while ago. A nightmare he never told me about the contents of. Nowadays though.. I heard Natsu get up, walk over to the sofa.

"Luce..?" he asked, a bit groggy from the hasty awakening, and I opened my eyes.

"Nightmare?" I asked, and he sighed in relief, before gesturing for me to sit up. He sat down next to me without answering. Yeah, he never really talked about his dreams, whatever they were about.

"So, how'd your job go?" I asked in order to get his mind onto other things. If he didn't want to talk to me, that was alright. We all had our secrets, things we didn't want to share. I'm sure he would talk one day, when he was ready.

"Huh? Oh, it went alright. I kicked his ass." he smiled, and I imagined him being back in business, kicking ass and creating havoc. Another town getting blocks blown away by this guy following his sense of justice. Or perhaps another forest.

"How DO you know Vera, anyways?" he asked all of a sudden, and I eyed him in the darkness, then sighed, got up from the sofa.

"Where are you going?"

"Doesn't look like you're going back to sleep anytime soon, so I'm making tea," I replied, when he grabbed my hand and dragged me down onto the sofa again.

"Don't want tea."

"Too bad, 'cause I do. Want a sandwich while I'm on it?" I removed his hand, and got up again, headed for the kitchen after turning on the lights.

"Extra meat!" I heard him yelling, and I rolled my eyes. He might be a bit shaken up still by whatever he had been dreaming about, but food still made it high enough on his priority list to overrule that anxiety somewhat. Good thing I shopped for a week.

* * *

"Here you go." I handed Natsu his plate racked with quite an amount of food, knowing full well he would eat it all without any problems. I also placed his cup of tea on the table before I sat down and started sipping on my own.

"So.. Vera?" he asked in between bites, and I rolled my eyes.

"Already told you that, didn't I? Met her at a ball."

"Yeah, but you stopped telling the story before you got till the end."

"We were sort of in in a hurry at the time. You wanted to hear the full story, did you?"

"I want to know who, and what she is." he replied, and put his plate down, all but licked clean. Natsu could be as thorough with his food as Erza was with her cake. I studied him now, the seriousness in his eyes. Since when did he get all thinking and worrying about people we met? Sure, the boy wasn't stupid, most of the time, but he usually didn't care too much about strangers.

"She's a Dragon Slayer. Or so she told me, in any case. Don't know how much of that is true, though, but she is one heck of a fire mage." I replied, remembering the battle all those years ago.

"A Fire Dragon Slayer. Like me? Doesn't make any sense. She told us fire was her weak spot..." O..kay..?

"I'm not sure what you're on about, but Fire has about as much of an effect on her as it has on you. She can probably chug it down like a meal too, though I've never really seen it."

"She can. I tried burning her before she took me to that forest."

"She also told me something else, something I wanted to ask her about. Pretty much why I took on the mission when I laid eyes on it, even though I knew most of the things written on the request had to be bullshit."

"Wait, you KNEW?"

"Yeah... The request said a noble woman wanted company and protection through a forest known for non-magical thugs. She has her moments, but she is neither nobility, social nor in need of any protection. I think she wanted to see me too, since she used the same name she used when I first met her."

"Which is..."

"Vera D. Ryuuchi."

"And what did you want to ask her about?"

"Her foster brother. She talked a lot about him, and when she so openly invited me to meet her I wanted to ask her in return."

"You went on a mission with a possibly psychotic person to ask about her brother?!"

"What, not like I haven't met her before. Vera might be sort of an original and all, but she never hurt me."

"She tried KILLING you!"

"What? She never would've.."

"Lucy, she set you on fire, literally, and more than once!"

**FLASHBACK END**

* * *

That had quickly escalated into an argument where some of the facts of my magical misadventures came to light. Like how I had caught fire at multiple occasions, and how Vera had payed us a little visit and forced me to use Dragon Slayer magic in the first place. I couldn't help it. Apart from me almost dying in the process, it all ended up sounding so absurd I almost laughed. As a child I had begged her to teach me her magic, and here she was, years later, making me do that. Natsu noticed that shadow of a smile and turned livid, it all ending up with him leaving the guild for the night. And because of that, I had stayed up in my apartment, not sleeping, staring at that box before heading to the guild where Natsu apparently had gone for another job, a lot of people doing the same. People were acting kind of strange these days. Like, since when did EVERYONE go on separate missions every single day? And did Natsu still feel angry? He usually forgave me after some time to cool off.

Then he showed up here again tonight. His breaking and entering aside, I felt relieved he had chosen to come back. At least he wasn't angry enough to stay away, and he seemed even less tired today than yesterday. So yes, I was glad that he was feeling better...

"But I'm not sleeping on the sofa tonight." I continued. That thing was killing my back, and this was my apartment. My bedroom. My bed. No way was that boy and that wrecked cat of his going to ruin my good nights sleep.

"So you better make some room for me, or I WILL possibly have to kill you in your sleep." I whispered, and took a better hold of the blanket I had in my arms, sat down on the bed defiantly. This was awkward. Definitely awkward. I was about to go to bed, with a boy. By my own free will. Even if this WAS Natsu, and even if I technically HAD done it before.. still awkward. Still made me blush. Tryingly I pushed him towards the wall, making him groan slightly as he started to wake up a bit. There, not so hard was it? My bed was sort of broad. Not like a double bed by any standards, and not really intended for two people, but I wanted to sleep, and the couch hadn't been comfortable enough for me to get enough of that, which might be why I had been spacing out for what might've been hours while staring at that box on the table. I sent it another glance, barely visible in the darkened room as a silhouette. I REALLY needed the sleep. Slowly i laid down, covered myself with blankie, and... Natsu shifted in his sleep, making me inch closer to the edge.

"Natsu, I will NOT give up my spot. It is cooperation, or you're out." I warned silently, not expecting him to hear me but uttering it anyways. I didn't know how to get him out of this bed, either, but I'd cross that bridge when I got there. He sighed loudly and shifted some more, and gone was the heavenly soft that was my bed. For a moment. Then, without me knowing how, I suddenly felt his arm wrapping around my waist, keeping me from falling.

"Thanks..."

"You're cold, Luce..." he mumbled, and proceeded to drag me off the edge, into the warmth under the duna. Well, sure, the room might be kind of cold due to the open window, but that was NO reason for him to become so.. intimate. Like before everything happened. Before everything went back to normal. Especially after... The boy shifted again, snaked an arm under my head while maintaining his grip with the other. Still sleeping, just while keeping me close. Always keeping me close. He was strange, Natsu. Had always been strange. But he kept me safe, along with everyone else. The very thought of losing any of us would haunt him and make him unbelievably strong until he could beat whatever tried erasing us, his family. In the end of our discussion I never got to tell him what Vera told me about that brother of hers. "Pride is for wimps, guts for champs". I wondered if that REALLY would mean anything to him. But Igneel was alive. And if he was alive, then Natsu would find him.

***_I just realized something. Do you know what a "duna" is? It isn't even a word in my dictionary. The correct term is, according to that same dictionary, a "duvet". I have used the term before, so I might've confused some people. I'm not sure if it really is the same, but anyways. You learn something new every day. Thought the word to be all obvious, but it only exists in the urban dictionary. Weird words. Oh well. Anyways. So now all the people that didn't know knows. I am going to continue using my word, so if you don't like it, then tough._

_On to different matters, I hope you liked the chapter. I was quite fond of it myself, to be honest, but that's me. I don't vouch for my general reading population. It isn't my job, and besides, I AM kind of mental. No offense. Not sure why I said that. Oh well, onwards we go to new adventures. Soon.. or not? You know me and promises when it comes to time related things... I'll be back. Just don't know when. Might be tomorrow, or next month, depending on how creative I find myself being_***


	25. Missing Stars?

***_I have nothing to say. How weird is that. I usually have lots and lots to talk about in my authors note, but not this time. Perhaps except that I am very happy to be alive and kicking. A nice feeling, that._

_I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline._***

I lay in the grass, the blue sky rising above me. Not a cloud was in sight, and the sun caressed my skin where I lay in my bikini, getting some good old rest after the long walk here. It was a hill of sorts this, not quite a mountain but bordering to become one, a little while outside Magnolia. Natsu had left for another solo mission earlier today, and I needed money for food, plus something to do in general. I was bored, so I left for my own mission today.

Beside me there was a cage with five tigers sleeping soundly, calmed down completely due to the heat, and due to the hours spent running on this field, kudos to my client that let them out and then sent a request to Fairy Tail for someone to catch her escaped kittens. Yes, the request said kittens. The cage contained tigers. Big, fierce tigers with sharp teeth and sharper claws. Not that I was the one to gather them up. They were already caged when I arrived at this place, far enough away from the village for me to not encounter any people, close enough for me to be able to wander off without having to stay the night away. Well, I called them tigers, but.. they were slightly larger than tigers. And they kind of had fur that took the form of fire. Not that it actually burned. Not at the moment. If they got mad that might change. The cage, too.. more like some kind of metal chain connected to a stick in the ground. Not the safest place to lay perhaps, especially since I lay within their reach.

"How long will it be before you send them into another fit of panic?" I asked with my eyes still closed. I wasn't referring to the tigers. They were reasonably tame. Much like kittens, I had to admit, though the strength and the size made their games more risky that I'd prefer. In this heat they would be sleeping though. It was unseasonably hot today, should be colder in these winter months. I had a feeling my client had a little something to say in that matter. She did hold the bility to up the temperature, if nothing else.

"A few hours." she answered, and I opened my eyes to look at my client, also clad in her bikini, black in comparison to mine that was white and pink. Her hair flowed behind her in soft, black waves where she lay half sitting in the grass beside me, resting on her elbows. She smiled brightly at me, mischief twinkling from her red eyes.

"Any chance that you might let me return WITHOUT making a fuss?" I knew the answer before I uttered the question, but one could always hope.

"Nope. No fun. You should be glad I used Homura on the request rather than Ryuuchi this time, though making the papers on me flame up and only reveal my old alias unburnt does sound rather intriguing. I might do that next time. For now my papers will merely disappear. Don't worry, I got these kittens in order to make the job plausible," she pointed at one of the animals that right then yawned and showed off an impressive set of teeth. I sighed.

"What am I doing here, Vera?" I asked, rested my upper body on my elbows like her now, sitting up a bit. The animal closest to me raised its head due to the movement, a golden sets of eyes staring at me for a bit before the tiger decided that I wasn't going to do anything and fell back into a lazy slumber.

"Thought you might want to know what you are." she said. I raised an eyebrow at that.

"Far as I know I'm human."

"Yet you don't burn. Don't you find that curious?" she continued. Touche. I had to admit, I sometimes did wonder why that was.

"Last time I checked you didn't know the reason behind that either. Which was why you kept visiting."

"Well, what if I told you I came across an interesting story the other day?"

"Why couldn't you just visit me in the guild and tell me the story? I know you guys hit it off on the wrong foot, but I'm sure they'd listen.."

"That would be putting it mildly, little Lucy, and besides, 'm not too fond of people, remember? Your boyfriend doesn't seem like the type to listen to words either."

"He is NOT my BOYFRIEND!"

"Yet you kissed him." she said while wriggling her eyebrows suggestively, thus sending me into a sputtering fit.

"I.. YOU. THAT... You told me it was the only way for us to win!" I tried saving my ass, without much success. It had been shifty from the time she told me, the whole kissing being the only way to empower Natsu deal back in the forest without time. It DID work, of course. But..

"That I did, and you listened. Congratulations on your first kiss!" Vera said it in a way that suggested that her words had been just that. A con. And I had.. ugh.

"Vera!" I protested loudly, but she only laughed, pinched my cheek as she sat up more properly.

"Needed to be done, sweetheart. 'Sides, I can't be your first kiss."

"What do you mean by tha.." she bowed forward then, planted her lips on mine before I really got the meaning of my words, and felt myself falling into fire and darkness and hidden secrets as my consciousness fell away.

"Now tell me what you see.." a voice whispered in my ear, soon followed by the roar as one of the large cats got up and decided to challenge one of the others.

* * *

**AT THE GUILD**

The sun was slowly lowering in the horizon, and people that had spent their day questing or training were now returning for a much needed meal, perhaps before heading out for some late training before bed, only to repeat the next day. It had been like that for a while. Of course there were those who took the days completely at ease, but most of them had a busy schedule, especially amongst the younger ones. Since people had started returning they were now busy bragging about their feats in between heavy drinking or heavy eating, sometimes both. The ice mage was taking it easy at the moment, sitting by the end of the bar, enjoying an iced drink while letting his eyes lazily move about, only half looking at the things happening around him.

Elfman was bragging to his sister about a foe he had encountered on his last quest while holding another flier in his hand, clearly not done for the day. His shouts about how he had been a man rung throughout the whole guildhall. Cana was sober at the moment, oddly enough, and looking intently at her cards, decipting the gods knew what. Gray took anouther sip at his drink as his eyes wandered further. Erza sitting by the stairs, polishing her sword with what looked like a pink towel. Master sitting at the other end of the bar, drinking his ale and cheerfully talking about the tenacity of the young ones this year together with Macao and Wakaba. Mira merely swiping by her brother, approving his new mission before he got up and left, leaving Lisanna alone with her older sister. She ordered a vanilla milkshake, and Mira smiled before moving onto her other patrons.

"You want another drink, Gray?" she asked as she swiped by him as well, swiftly taking his empty class and placing it on her serving plate, and he nodded before she continued on. How she managed to balance so many empty glasses in so many different sized on that serving plate remained a mystery to him. Before the door got to close after Elfman left they got kicked open, and in came the one and only Salamander.

"Yo, hothead, how'd the mission go?"

"What'd you call me, iceprick?"

"You heard me, ashes for brains!" more insults managed to pass between them, but not many before they clashed, fought briefly before giving in since the Dragon Slayer was starving after a long day that was far from over. They reluctantly stopped so the scarfed boy could yell his orders to Mira, that smiled and continued on her round, finished it and then went off to the kitchens in order to whip together the humongous amount of food for him. Nab returned from one of his rare jobs, only to stop in front of the mission-board, where he most likely would be standing a good while before he went on another job. Erza silently swore as she accidentally cut the towel with her now sparkling sword, before she exquipped it and exchanged it with another while muttering something about compensation for the item she had broken. Master fell off the counter when Macao told a particularly lewd joke. In the meantime Natsu Dragneel made his way over to one of the tables where he sat down, Happy sitting on the table and talking about the initial plans for extra training tonight. Something involving lifting rocks, dodging trees and swimming against the current. Perhaps simultaneously. Lisanna said her hellos to him before heading out on a new job and Droy stood next to Nab by the mission-board arguing about a mission they both claimed they had seen first, when Levy stopped briefly in front of the Exceed and his partner.

"How's Lucy? I didn't see her today since I headed out pretty early on a mission and only got back a few hours ago."

"Oh, she was okay the last time I saw her. She isn't here?" the pink-haired boy was tired, but after some food he would be up and fit for training even more before going to bed. He'd left pretty early on a mission himself, only seen his partner briefly in the morning as she made herself breakfast before heading out.

"She didn't go on a mission with you?" the blunette seemed surprised.

"No..." he answered her, and just then Mira returned, balancing a giant plate with a great variety of food on it, some of it blazing, some of it not in one hand, a plate with fish in the other.

"Lucy left for a mission earlier today, just outside the town. Something about finding and recapturing some kittens for an old lady named.. hm. What was it now? Oh, something Homura. None others wanted the mission since it didn't offer much of a reward, but Lucy seemed bored so I suggested she could go. She seemed pretty excited about it," the barmaid added while swiftly avoiding a flying axe that hit the mission board and separated the loudly fighting Jet and Droy, kudos to an apparently annoyed Erza, before going back to the bar in order to get more stuff to serve.

"Oh. Well, say hello from me when you see her next then. I have another book I'd like her to have a look at!" Levy smiled brightly, didn't seem worried at all about her blonde friend. Why would she, it was a mission just outside town, and it involved kittens. The next few minutes Natsu didn't worry either, since he was busy inhaling his food.

"Yo, Natsu." Cana made her way over, her hips swinging from side to side in a seductive manner, completely lost on the person she was calling out to of course. She'd waited for him to finish his meal before heading over, both to avoid getting bathed in food and to be certain that he would pay attention to what she had to say.

"Hm?" he grunted and turned to her, just swallowing his last bite as she sat down next to him.

"Where's Lucy?" she asked, and he shrugged.

"Dunno. On a mission, apparently. Why do you ask me?" he didn't worry. Not yet. Why didn't Cana ask Mira though? She would know these things better since she always was at the guild.

"Because I heard you and Levy talking, and thought I might go and find her for a good girl chat, just her and me. I can't fine her though."

"If she's on a mission then she wouldn't be here, like duh."

"I mean in my cards. It's as if some magic is blocking me, keeping me from finding her."

"What?" he raised his brows now, knitting them together as the news dawned on him. She couldn't be found..? But she was right outside town. Mira had said so herself. He sighed, let go of the idea of another mission today as he looked for the barmaid that at the moment was situated behind the bar, cleaning a glass.

"Mira! Where did Lucy go on her mission?" he yelled over to her, and she understood that he wanted more than her earlier reply, so she headed to her book containing the information regarding the client and the whereabouts of the mission. Only it wasn't there. Nothing. Not a name. Not a location. No mission. She stared at the book emptily, willing it to reappear, for this was familiar. Too familiar.

"Mira, dear. What's wrong?" asked Master, standing on the counter with his cup in hand.

"It isn't here. I remember writing everything down before she headed out, but it isn't here. It's as if there never was a mission." she replied, and the old man managed to sober up some.

"Do you remember where she went?" asked the fire Dragon Slayer, his tone serious. That she did, now when she thought about it. ;irajane Strauss usually did remember most missions she approved for quite some time afterwards, even though she out of habit would look it up to be a hundred percent accurate. She repeated the address, and Team Natsu headed out right away. The mistake would not be repeated twice. This time, they would be there.

***_Cliffhangers. Or no cliffhangers. I have stuff to do, and thusly find myself temporarily unable to deduct the nature of this particular chapter ending. Have fun doing that. We shall meet again, but not quite yet. Soon. Hopefully very soon, but no promises, as promises are for reliable people._***


	26. Kyittens and Dragons

***_Ever found yourself in the need of writing excessive amounts of stuff in the matter of hours? Guess what, today was my day. I have NO idea what I'm doing, by the way. The story just.. FLEW somewhere. This is such a long chapter... Jeez. I need more stuff to do. Other stuff. Thank you Nessa, by the way, for your review. And ShadowHunter11, and Lovleydragonfly, and ALL the others that have read and reviewed. Thank you for all those who just read as well, I appreciate the effort you put into giving my stories some of your time. There was also this review from a guest that.. made no sense. Not sure if it's a glitch, or if someone found it amusing to copy the seethrough text that tells you to type a review. Well, in any case. Enough blowing up other peoples ego, for now, since it's time to continue!_

_I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline. You should all know that by now, but I'm telling you anyways. Wouldn't like getting sued all of a sudden after all. This is a long one folks, but I couldn't be bothered putting in the effort of finding a spot to divide it half. So here we go!_***

She lay there, in the grass, the day sunny and unseasonably warm. The blonde girl, laying on her back, fingers digging into the ground beneath her, grasping and convulsing while she did what was bid of her. Whispering words, describing the scene surrounding her, a scene that she only could see in her mind after being drugged sufficiently by the woman that leaned over her, her eyes widening with each word.

"That can't be." she muttered, moved her ear from the blondes mouth so she could stare at her, her red eyes filled with disbelief. The blonde moaned and arched her back, trying to escape the prison in her mind while complaining loudly. There was a past she didn't recall, referred to simply as the void. Her early childhood had lots of holes in it, sometimes weeks without any recollections. If not months. Images was now trying to fill these black spots in her past, and she didn't seem to be enjoying the process.

"You can't have." the black-haired beauty repeated, and got up, leaving the girl with her pain. The seal had been broken. The seal that kept the none existent mission in existence. She needed to go. Far too much time had passed already. They would be here soon, those friends of hers, surely. They were not people to waste any time when they sensed a friend in danger. Vera could relate to that. To be honest she liked this new change of scenery. Chaos and smiles and laughs. Less yelling and less.. imprisonment. Jude Heartfilia. She despised even his name, but at least he let the girl go this time around. Made a big fuss, of course, but he let her go. Smart move.

"Help me..." came the pained plea from the girl on the ground, and the one standing above her sighed.

"It will all be over soon, little one. Your friends should be coming for you now, so don't worry. I have some things I need to deal with, so I'll be gone for a while." she bowed down then, placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"But I'll be back, little Lucy D." she whispered and then she was gone. The tigers stopped fighting, and as if on cue moved over to their alleged captor, laid down in a circle around her, one of them in the middle so close that it almost lay on top of her, keeping her warm. Keeping her safe.

* * *

**IN THE MIND OF LUCY**

Running. Running while being chased. The scream that wanted to emerge from my throat blocked it and made it hard to breathe, a task already difficult since I had been running for a long time. I had to get away. I had to run. I had to escape. From the prison. From Hell. I heard barking, howling, clawed paws hitting the grass and digging up dirt, something HE would not appreciate. Served him well. I hoped the damage would remain permanently. The sound of my feet hitting the grass was more silent. Perhaps because I had no claws. Nothing to claw up the ground with. Perhaps because I needed to be silent as well as swift. The hounds could smell me, no doubt, but humans couldn't. Hounds I could off. Humans were harder. Noisier. They didn't see too well in the gloomy night, either, since they had grown up to be creatures of the day.

When was the last time I saw daylight? My cell had no windows, the whole dungeon void of any light but the torches my guards brought with them, and that they also left with. It made them blind today, that dependency on torches. Dependency on light. On things that made darkness crippling. My vision was better off without them.

* * *

"You need to look deeper, Lucy. Look deeper." a voice demanded me, a voice that didn't come from anywhere in particular.

* * *

Change of scenery. It was still dark, but not because it was night. I lay on my back, staring at the black smoke that surrounded me, crying out. I heard terrifying screams around me, the screams of people in agony, people running, people calling out to other people. The sound of running steps, and someone yelling for someone, anyone, if they'd seen the baby. I kept screaming, but my voice was being strangled by the smoke, when flapping sounds could be heard. Large, or more like ginormous wings that made the smoke give way so I could see the sky. Glowing pieces of ash blew up due to the force of the flapping wings as I saw a shadow above me, larger than anything I had ever seen, its fierce orange eyes staring at me before it opened its mighty jaws and roared, sending more scorching fire down upon us. I stopped crying then, retorted to simple staring.

* * *

Again, change of scenery, someone holding me against their bosom, running through the blazing fire. Whispering soothing words. There is no need to be afraid. I can stop crying now. I have to stop crying. Or else she'll kill me or leave me behind. Much the same, really, those options.

* * *

I am walking through the woods with unsteady steps, laughing at some blurry figure. She laughs with me, and I sense a smile though I can't see it.

* * *

Then it is back to chaos. Back to fire and roars and screams in agony. Buildings collapsing, the roar of monsters all around me clashing in the air, killing each other no doubt. I stare up at them, my arms falling limply to the side. The world is ending. The sky is alight, the water is boiling, and the trees have long since been reduced to frozen or charcoaled lumps that no longer resembles what they once were. No more forest. No more water. It is only for the stars to go out next, and there will be no more. Humans run around me, trying to get away from the two up there, roaring and fighting to the very last. There was no escape, however, not unless they somehow could ward off the elements that so violently were clashing together. I whispered their names, for I knew the two. I knew them for they were family. Family that now would end the world, themselves with it. I started crying then. Crying silently.

_""Imagine a world where everything is in ruins. Imagine yourself standing in the remnant of what was once a magnificent city, prospering in art, culture and politics. A town where people would be laughing and dancing and singing in the streets. Marketplaces so large you could get lost in between booths holding the most fantastic treasures, glimmering in the light and sometimes powered with old, beautiful spells. A city that was guarded by white walls, topped with knights of honor, always guarding in their shining armor. For this is in the east. And the east is the place of terrific beauty and terrible danger. On one side the wall gives way for a glimmering river, sparkling like sapphires in the sunlight, filled with swift boats that can venture far and wide in the world. On the other side you can see the old forest, holy in the eyes of the citizens of the town. Green and lush and ancient. A forest that has always been there._

_And now, imagine yourself being a child, holding onto the sooted remains of your teddy, shaped in the form of a Dragon. You are standing there, in the remnants of this prospering city, but everything is gone now. The sky is dark and rumbling, thunder and rain and fire and metal raining down, sometimes accompanied with hail or ice. The adults are running, screaming, trampling each other to death as they try to escape from the apocalypse, the very thing they believe is going on now. The guards in shining armor are in complete disarray, shouting orders from the ever crumbling walls of the city. The ones that as not already fallen that is. The number of dead is high, and ever rising. But you stand there, in a city that is burning while the human beings try to get away, smoke threatening to choke everything. The river is boiling. The holy forest is frozen solid, only to be slowly eradicated by the stray lightning, the roar of metal, the howling wind. The sky itself seems to be burning._

_You stare at the sky, for how can you not, when you see those that are all are fighting to the death up there? Their wings flapping, their jaws snapping at each other, roaring out the content of their element. The sky is black, and the world is seemingly ending, at least for this city. A city that you can't even be bothered learning the name of, since it will be added to the list of nameless wonders that will be forgotten with time, only a part of the destruction that has been and that will be. War, they call it. A fight where no one will be the winner, merely the dead, and the ones left behind. You whisper the names of the two fighting up there, the name you know them to possess while tears start to silently flow down, dripping onto the scorched ground._

_The fire doesn't hurt. Fire never hurt, for you are the Child of Fire. The child of Homura, one of the ancient ones.""_

* * *

"That can't be." a voice in the distance called out. Yet again a voice that didn't belong. I felt the world shifting again and I was thrown into yet another reality.

* * *

The sun had risen. Why did it rise? There was no reason for it to rise. Mama was gone. I stared at the wicked sun, where it tried to tell me that this would become another lovely day. But Mama was dead. She would wake up no more. She had been sick for so long now, and I'd known that this day would come. I had just assumed that all else would end when she ended. Layla, the woman that was my mother. Her smile that could light up a room like none other could ever accomplish with such a simple act. Father was broken. He was in her room now, crying sorely by her bed. I was crying too. Of course I was. Nothing could ever bring the likes of her back. Not any amount of tears or pleas. I still cried. So did he.

* * *

"Fire is dangerous. Remember that girl. Fire will burn you." a whispering voice, one I do not know but that I know I fear. I am on the ground and feel something sizzle into my back followed by the distinct smell of burning flesh. I scream. I shriek as the agony hits me, the unbearable agony of having my back burnt badly by the person that keeps telling me that fire is dangerous. Fire is bad. Fire will burn me.

The room is dark, and there are no windows. No escape for me, nor for any of my screams. The voice wanted me to fear it. It wanted me to shun fire like the pest. Humans fear fire, for it can bring as much destruction as it can save lives. Fire is wild, uncontrollable and hot. It can give you warmth, and it can give you light, or it can devour everything you own, turn it into gray ash, your body included. I know this, for the voice keeps telling me so. Telling me what fire does. How dangerous it is. How much it can hurt. When the words failed, the voice started to actually burn me, to prove its words. Fire burns. Fire hurt. Fire.. is bad.

* * *

Everything was gone. The sky itself was void of all but the sun, just as the black ground was void of all but me. Just me, and the sun. I walked, my feet tired after all this time. I had nowhere to go. Nothing to return to, yet I kept walking. I kept walking since my instincts told me to. That's when I spotted her, the tall lady sitting up against the scorched remains of a tree. She was barely alive, but that meant that there was more than me.

"What'cha lookin' at, little one? You want to die?" she asked, coughed a bit as she tried sitting up. I didn't own any words, so I didn't answer. Merely walked up to her, touched her bruised cheek. Smiled since I knew smiles sometimes helped.

"Shoo, kiddo. I have no time for the likes o' you." with a groan she got up, and left.

I wandered after her, since it gave me a goal. She was taller than me, much taller, just as adults were. She turned and tried chasing me off a few times, but gave up after a few hours. My feet were bare, bleeding after the long walk, but I kept following.

"Kiddo. I hate people. You're people. Fuck off." she said halfhearted as she settled for the night, started gathering wood in a heap. We'd passed the charred moonlandscape a while ago, and trees where looking better off now. Less like the end of the world. I mimicked her actions and started gathering some sticks to add to the heap too.

* * *

The sensation of burning metal against my bare skin, and the words repeated over and over again. Fire is bad. Fire burns. Fire is dangerous.

* * *

The woman suddenly took hold of me, lifted me up against a tree by my simple, white dress. I stared at her, waited for her to say something.

"Why aren't you scared, kid? Everyone's SCARED." she spelled the words out to me, her red eyes boring into mine. I didn't waver. She was the only one around here. Nothing else mattered, for there was nothing else that could matter. This lasted for a few moments before she let me go, and then proceeded to punch the tree so hard it was smashed to smithereens. I looked at her.

"That WILL be your face if you don't leave." she stated simply. I shook my head, and her eyes got a dangerous glint to them.

"You really want to try me, you little shit? I could put you on a spit roast if I wanted to and fry you nice and crispy on the campfire." that made me react. I didn't know all the words, but I knew the last one. Fire. Fire was bad. Fire was dangerous. So I started crying. Sobbing and hiccuping and wailing. The woman seemed tough, but tears. Tears she could not handle. Therefore she ended up comforting me in the end. Told me a story of Dragons, ginormous beasts that ruled the skies a long time ago, before an old war that all but eradicated them.

* * *

I was running. Running while being chased. The scream that wanted to emerge from my throat blocked it and made it hard to breathe, a task already difficult since I had been running for a long time. I had to get away. I had to run. I had to escape. From the prison. From Hell. I heard barking, howling, clawed paws hitting the grass and digging up dirt, something HE would not appreciate. Served him well. I hoped the damage would remain permanently. The sound of my feet hitting the grass was more silent. Perhaps because I had no claws. Nothing to claw up the ground with. Perhaps because I needed to be silent as well as swift. The sky was dark, void of start and without a moon. The smell of rain filled the air. Good. If I only could distance myself from the beginning of my escape the rain would erase my tracks, make it all but impossible to follow.

I had nowhere to go, and nowhere to return to. I did not know what I was running from, but it was something. Something scary. Something dark. Something I didn't wish to remember.

* * *

"Fire is dangerous, remember that little girl. Remember that."

* * *

I was there, the woman bound to the pole smiling at me for climbing all the way up, calling me brave since she knew that fire was something I feared. I closed my eyes as she patted my head, no matter how with her hands tied to the pole as they were. She was special to me, the woman that now was tied to the pole in the forest, left there to be burnt alive. Her hair unscathed by the heat as her lips gently pressed against my forehead.

"Fire will hurt you no more" and the feeling of my burns disappearing. The burns I got from the person that wanted me to clear away from fire. And fire would never again be a phobia of mine.

* * *

**BACK IN THE FIELD**

I opened my eyes with a start, back in reality. At least I hoped so. That had been.. confusing. The images had kept moving back and forth in time, echoing each other. And had there been dragons? What on Earthland had Vera drugged me with this time? Those images. Like echoes from the past, but without sense in them. If they were real, they weren't chronological, and they kept repeating themselves. SOmewhere in there I thought I heard the Vera of this world speak to me, though that evidently had been a while ago. She was nowhere to be seen now. Great. I then noticed a crumpled note in my hand.

They need more exercise, or the old lady will refuse to pay you. V.D.H.

Just as I finished reading it it burst into flames, and I saw the animals get up from their positions sleeping all around me. One of them growled tryingly.

* * *

They were making their way up to the field Lucy supposedly was summoned to get the kittens. The quest was, to be honest, sketchy at best, and they remained highly alert when they heard movement ahead, right before a gasping Loke made it out of some bushes, stopping for a brief moment when he spotted the group that stared at him, awaiting some kind of explaining.

"They're.. coming. You should.. run!" he managed to gasp.

"Who's coming?" Erza asked, ready to draw her sword any given moment.

"The Kyittens!" he grimaced and set off running again, leaving Erza, Gray, Happy and Natsu standing there, very confused as to why he was running from some tiny fur balls that apparently were heading this way. Before they could think anything more of it though, a shrieking voice was approaching from above, and suddenly the Fire Dragon Slayer was knocked to the ground when Lucy came flying from the upper branches of a tree, screaming after being "playfully" hit by one of the so called little furballs that indeed were approaching.

Kyitten. An animal belonging in the cat family, roughly the size of a tiger and with fur that resembles fire. This fur is not warm unless the animal is agitated. A kyitten is very playful, and does most thing the animal with the similar animal would do, like playing cat and mice. In this case, with our own Lucy of Fairy Tail in the role as mouse. The client, yes there was an actual client, had misspelled the name on the mission she handed to the guild.

"Natsu?!" she yelled out in surprise when she saw the half crushed male groan from beneath her. Then she heard the sound of the fastest amongst the animals she was babysitting, and got up fast, ready to run.

"Luce, what's going on?" he managed to ask and grabbed her arm before she could make a run for it.

"No time. RUN!" instead of trying to shake him off her she grabbed hold of them all before she set off, not a moment too late as the beastly cat made it through the canopy, crashing and crushing a nearby tree due to the force of impact.

"That's Lucinda. Rime, Blaise, Telford and Tor should be around here somewhere..." she managed to yell as they ran.

"You mean there's MORE of them?"

"I'm supposed to exercise them!"

"OH." came the simultaneous reply from the rest of Team Natsu as things fell into place, and a smile moved onto the lips of the Salamander as he upped his pace. This was training too, sort of.

* * *

They fell onto the ground, utterly beat the lot of them, the Kyittens purring and licking their fur by the time the little lady made her way up to get her babies. She was about the same height as Master, a tiny little thing with her hair put up in a strict, grey bun. She wore a simple black dress with a white apron decorated by a pink paw, her eyes covered by some mighty strong glasses that magnified her eyes several times, so much that the irises weren't visible. Or perhaps did she have black eyes naturally? Natsu did, so why not her?

"You have done a splendid job, giRl. I will be suRe to hiRe you the next time as well. HeRe is youR RewaRd, as we agReed!" she spoke with an odd accent that made her roll her Rs, and handed me the 5.000 jewels. Not much of a reward for a full day of running about with her little kitties that she now led away with some scrawny rope bound around their necks. As if rope would really stop them should they decide to run off. Not that they had the need to run off after the run we had accompanied them on. I split the reward and gave my companions a thousand jewels each.

"Now, though, I'm starving!" I exclaimed before my partner could exclaim the same, and started wandering off, soon followed by my team-mates.

"So there really was a mission?" Gray asked, and I swallowed, knew the question had to come sooner or later. Of course, I had been hired by Vera to look after the old woman's Kyittens, but it hadn't really been a mission as much as it was a private affair made between the two of them. Vera had been the one to place the request on the mission board, making it undesirable for others to take it due to the low pay and the apparent easy job when people these days tended to go on the more challenging ones. Her name, V. D. Homura was another open invitation, since she assumed, correctly, that I hadn't told anyone of her actual name, though her old alias Vera D. Ryuuchi would be known by now.

"Kind of..."

"What's that s'posed to mean?" Gray interfered, and I turned to him in order to explain, shrieked, and the next thing the ice mage knew was that he was hit so hard that he flew off into the woods, once more utterly naked. Erza didn't let me off the hook though, and turned to me after ridding herself of the stripping boy.

"It was a request from Mrs. Kaida, yes." I tried getting out of it, but the next stare I received suggested that I either told the truth now, or after I got beaten.

"But she never sent the mission to the guild. Vera did. She knew I would take interest when I saw the name."

"Explains why the papers disappeared again," Gray commented as he appeared from the bushes, just dragging the shirt down while watching the judging Titania carefully. We started walking again.

"Wasn't her name Vera D. Ryuuchi?"

"No. Her real name is Vera D. Homura. She only used the name Ryuuchi since she like the name."

"Likes the name?" Natsu questioned, raised a brow at me since he was walking right next to me.

"Dragons Blood. The name is made out of the word Dragon and Blood. She called it a private joke." I explained.

"And what does the D stand for?" he asked further, oddly curious today.

"I don't know." I replied, though I had an idea what it might be.

"So what did she do this time?" Gray asked. He was once more shirtless, and walking on my other side, opposite from Natsu.

"Nothing much. We sunbathed. I fell asleep, and she left." and oh yeah, she drugged me before she left too. Since the drug obviously hadn't been harmful beyond giving me some pretty vivid and strange dreams, I saw no harm in keeping that little detail out.

"Just like that?" Erza didn't seem convinced. I could understand that. Understanding Vera was a completely different matter.

"I have a feeling it will be a while until we see her again. It had that vibe."

"But there'll be a next time?"

"There's always a next time. There's not an if with that woman. Just a when." we walked in silence for a while after I stated that, Happy happily resting on my head, totally beat after the long day. No wonder, they had a mission BEFORE all this too, Natsu and Happy. Gray and Erza had probably been training too. Everybody were training really hard these days. Everybody but me, since I didn't really see a reason to up my training at the moment. There had to be a reason behind all this, but I didn't know what.

"Homura... there's something familiar with that name." Natsu mused loudly, and I sent him a look.

"Not too strange, considering..." I mumbled to myself. Really, even Natsu, gullible and dense Natsu might've caught his...

"What do you mean?" he asked, obviously hearing my own little comment.

"Pride is for wimps, guts for champs," I muttered tryingly, and to my surprise Natsu stopped dead.

"WHAT did you say?" his voice seemed uncertain, and I stopped too, turned my head to look at him. So it DID have a meaning. That little, odd sentence that was all I was able to bring back to him after all the trouble I went through meeting up with my old friend Vera.

"Where did you hear that?" he asked. His voice didn't seem too happy, though. More.. desperate? Not quite. I'd expected him to be happier.

"I..." I paused. How was I to explain this for him? Suddenly the boy stormed off, and Happy apologized and flew after him.

"What was that about?" Gray questioned, dragged his almost stripped off shirt down again after a warning glance from the redheaded mage next to him.

"What does it mean, what you just said?" she asked, Erza, knitting her brows together.

"I don't know, but supposedly Igneel used to say the same." I replied. I guess it wasn't exactly the thing he wanted, another reminder about his father not being here. I scratched the back of my head, grimaced slightly.

"I messed up, didn't I..."

"How do you know something like that?" she asked me, her face surprised.

"Vera told me to tell him. If he was the son of Igneel he'd understand."

"And how would SHE know?"

"I've told you before that I met Vera once before. Not quite true. I've met her several times before. She used to tell me about her foster brother. She called him Igneel." and after stating that, I started walking again. Of course there would be a lot of questions regarding that. Like how she could have a Dragon brother. Who she was. WHAT she was. So many questions.

"It's the reason I decided to go on that mission in the first place. Because I remembered her talking about him when I saw her name on the mission board." I'd already told Natsu about this, though I never mentioned the name of mentioned foster brother. He would freak out if he knew, and demand answers Vera wasn't likely to give. If I pressured her too much, she would be likely to do the complete opposite in pure spite. Orders. She hated being given orders.

"So who's Homura?" Gray asked as we exited the forest, started walking on pavement as we entered the city of Magnolia.

"According to her stories, he was Igneels father." I replied.

***_OH, and what is this? I gave you lots and lots of lovely informations in this chapter. Feel quite proud about that, to be honest. And yes, before you ask, in "the mind of Lucy", time is not necessarily flowing chronologically between the jumps that I so kindly divided with the line divider thingy. So the timeline in her dream state is jumbled. It is confusing. And it tells some of the stories that I have told before, so if you haven't read the earlier chapters in a while, you might fail to catch up on that. Sorry. Or it might just be my lack of ability to retell the tales. Sorry about that too, I got a bit exited somewhere between my chocolate and Cappuccino with extra added sugar. Caffeine isn't good for me, but like some of you might agree, in these trying times sleep is an unnecessary evil. It's the joy of University. In any case. You got any suggestions? You don't HAVE to have any, I'll figure something out. Eventually. I have LOTS of ideas. Ideas and plans are slightly different though, and of plans I currently have nil. Then again, that usually is the case with me. Hope you like the chapter. Longer than usual, I know, but like I said, it required too much effort to find a place to split it in two. Until next time!_***


	27. Truth or Dare and Final Exams

***_Here I am, giving you yet another double chapter, since most of it is happening in a somewhat short timespan. Enjoy it, folks. I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline._***

It was late, and I was preparing some late night snacks to nibble on while writing on my novel. My muscles were aching, but it'd pass after a few days, surely, even with the rough treatment received from the Kyittens, which they were called according to Loke. Figured he'd know, since he technically DID belong in the same family. Leo the lion. I chuckled to myself when I thought of his appearance today, panicking at first when he summoned himself after I started running, believing me to be in great danger.

I was making tea as well, and was just about to take the kettle off the stove when another hand reached out and snatched it away before my hand reached its destination. It would have to be one of the first silent entries Natsu Dragneel successively had performed, possibly ever. I almost shrieked, not almost, as I hadn't seen that one coming at all, and jumped backwards, thus colliding with the intruder that somehow managed to save the whole situation by grabbing me around the waist with one arm and throwing the kettle into the bedroom, spilling boiling hot water all over the floor. Or it would've been floor, hadn't it been for the fact that Natsu wasn't the only one to break an entrance today. It was the thump when the metal object hit his head, and the shriek as hot water started flowing down on Grays once more naked chest where he sat on the floor by the coffee table, the movement and the sound making Erza that had been sitting opposite from the table act instinctively, drawing her sword at first, thus cutting the table in two, then, when she somehow realized the possible danger she'd be putting him in without even considering stopping her assault, retorted to merely hitting the poor soaked boy so hard that he flew across the room and into the wall with a large crashing sound.

"Aye sir!" Happy the cat yelled from his position safe on my bed, and raised a paw in celebration to that little moment of pandemonium that just spelled out in my bedroom. Again.

"Jeez, Luce. You alright?" Natsu asked, where he stood, his grip firm around my waist, holding me way to close for comfort and having his face inches from mine, which again triggered another chain reaction. THIS time I shrieked, got beet red, and he let go of me in pure surprise, which gave me the opportunity to kick him out of the kitchen. He continued flying across the bedroom and out through the window that for some odd reason was closed at the moment. It shattered, and I heard a splash in the distance as the Salamander landed in the river outside.

"Ah, it's been a while since we all gathered like this, hasn't it." Erza said in a nostalgic face, and the half dead ice mage managed to lift a shaking hand and groan in agreement from his spot on the floor next to the damaged wall he so violently had been flung into only moments before. Why.. Why did I hang out with these people?

"Look, I brought cards so we can play tonight, just like old times. Let's play strip poker!" the redhead continued, held up a deck of cards.

"What?" I questioned, though I wasn't sure what I was questioning anymore. She never ceased to amaze me, that one.

"That was mean, Lucy!" came the loud complaint as a soaking wet Natsu made his way up the stairs, using the main entrance for once. Wait. Wasn't the door...

"I'm sorry about the door, by the way. I will pay to get it fixed. It didn't budge, so I was forced to pry it open. I will fix the problem that made it stuck like that too." Erza said, and pointed. I entered the bedroom from the kitchen completely now, and sure enough, leaning against the wall was the door.

"I locked the door. That's what people do when it's late." I muttered, sighed before I decided that this was beyond my ability to fix right now. So I wandered up to the broken table, picked up the dented kettle and headed for the kitchen again.

"Anyone want anything?!" I yelled, and got the orders. These people...

"Hey, let's order out!" Natsu suddenly yelled, probably thought of that new take out place at the shopping district. He'd been drooling over it for a while now after he had heard some people at the guild praise the food over there.

"Everything's closed, idiot!" Gray yelled back.

"What did you say, brainfreeze?" and of course Natsu replied with another insult. I already knew where this was heading.

"You heard me!"

"Why you.. OOFH." the sound of two people getting hit to the ground and a strict "behave yourself" later coming from my sole female teammate, and I started preparing the food. I would most likely need to buy more tomorrow the way this was heading. And I had shopped for groceries yesterday AND today too.

"Need any held, Lucy?" Erza entered the kitchen, and I just shook my head. Not only had I already decided on doing this and thusly accepted the fact that I would, but no way was I letting this woman loose in my kitchen. She could be an excellent cook, sure. She was an excellent fighter too. About as much damage could be caused in both fields, and she'd already broken my wall AND my door today. That was quite enough.

"I'm good, but thanks for offering." I replied and turned my back to her as I started cutting up ingredients for the mountain of sandwiches I was about to prepare for the boys, and the girl. Well, rather, I HAD bought a cake today from the shop Erza had recommended for me a while ago to enjoy in the morrow, but I guess she could have it now when they all visited. The sandwiches would be mainly for the boys. I also had a fish stacked somewhere for Happy to eat. Unless he already ate it. I wouldn't put it past him, not for a second.

"You sure?" she REALLY wanted to help, apparently.

"Then get the cake out of the fridge and hand me the lettuce that lies next to it," I gave in. Not too much damage could be done when that was a.. RIP. I sighed.

"Don't worry, not your fault this time. Natsu ripped the door off the fridge ages ago. Just hand me the lettuce and place it like you found it." I pointed on the door she held in her hand, and she handed me the green vegetable, took the cake and carefully placed it on the kitchen table before she placed the thing back on its hinges and closed the door to the fridge once more.

"He was out in the woods sulking, you know." she commented as I did my thing. Who would've thought my time in Fairy Tail had made me and expert cook. Oh, I could cook some before, even with my aversion towards boiling rice that remained from my early childhood. I would even go as far as call myself somewhat skilled. Not on Miras level, but better than average. It was my skill when it came to quantity that had improved significantly. Having to cook for twenty and feeding four did that over time.

"I figured. Tried looking for him earlier, but he didn't want to be found, so I decided to give him some space. It worked too, by the looks of it." I replied, well aware of the individual she was referring to. My partner. The one that now was doing.. something.. in the bedroom. It was too quiet, so it couldn't possibly be good.

"Those boys are up to something... Natsu, if you as much as THINK about... I WILL PERSONALLY CASTRATE YOU!" I walked with broad strides towards the lot of them, Natsu, Happy, Gray and Loke where they stood around my underwear drawer AGAIN. And when did Virgo get here?

"Punishment, Princess?" she asked, and I stopped, took a deep breath. This... THIS.

After beating the crap out of the three lecherous boys, kudos to Erza that I had to drag away from the panty drawers afterwards, plus a few threats thrown in regarding the plucking of a ceratin someones whiskeres, kudos to me, we eventually settled down with food and drinks and cards. Team Natsu plus Loke.

* * *

"I'll be right there," I excused myself, the people in my bedroom demanding my presence during this rather intense session of card playing, and I heard various calls about how I should hurry up already. I stared at myself in the mirror that was placed over the sink in my bathroom. A blonde girl stared back at me, a blonde with big, brown eyes, her hair in a side ponytail to keep it away from her face. Wearing a blue skirt with a whip and a set of keys hanging from the side, and a white shirt with a blue cross on it. A normal girl. An ordinary girl. A HUMAN girl. That was all I was, right? Human. Daughter of Jude Heartfilia and Layla Heartfilia. A girl that used to be a heiress, but that nowadays was better known as Lucy of Fairy Tail, a member in the Strongest team, Team Natsu. I had rumors depicting me as a monster that could ruin whole cities, though my teammates usually were the ones to cause the destruction I from time to time got the credit for. But I WAS human.. right? Ugh. Some of the things I remembered. They couldn't be true, all those... They would've told me about it. The servants. My Father. With a groan I washed my face, tried shaking the feeling of unease off. Earlier I hadn't had the time to really think things through, but now.. I raised my gaze towards the mirror again, but this time.. this time a pair of glowing orange eyes replaced my own. Glowing like vibrant fire. I jumped backwards, almost slipped and fell, a strange, kind of strangled sound escaping my throat.

"Luce?" I jumped, looked to see Natsu in the doorway, looking at me questionably. He almost gave me a heart attack. All the things I could've retorted with. My mouth didn't hold the ability to utter a single sound at that moment.

"Come on, the others are waiting." he continued when I obviously had nothing to say, and he took my hand, led me out of my little safe haven that wasn't all that safe after all, but not before I could sneak another glance into the mirror, my ordinary brown eyes back in place. What was that?

"About time!" Gray exclaimed as we entered the bedroom where we currently sat on the floor and played cards. Team Natsu, plus Loke. Natsu sat down first, picked up his cards which he had laid down when he went to fetch me. I tried sitting back into my spot next to him, but Gray interfered.

"No you don't. It was a dare. You lost fair and square in the last round. The rules are the rules!" he said strictly, and Erza agreed. We didn't play strip poker. I had adamantly refused to participate in strip poker. We still DID play poker though, but with a punishment game involved instead. The winner of each round got to ask the loser, as in the one that folded first or got the worst hand, truth or dare. Truth wasn't usually picked, since most participants found it boring, so of course I had picked dare, and Gray... I had to admit that I silently agreed with Natsu about him being a bastard. Gray, the winner of last match, had dared me to sit in Natsus lap until the end of the game or until the next dare made me move away from him. Erza was the one seeing to that the rules were followed, so no mercy would wait for me there.

"Come on. I ate Icicles pants earlier. You have to follow the rules too!" Natsu complained. That would be the work of Happy, that as the winner of that round had dared Natsu to eat Grays pants. As in trousers. Without setting them on fire. That had been entertaining. I think Loke almost pissed himself. I groaned in defeat, but settled down between the legs of Natsu Dragneel, picked my cards up from the ground too, watched carefully so Natsu couldn't see them. At least Gray had a legitimate reason to sit in his boxers now. Natsu had, in pure annoyance to the spirits snickering dared him to eat Grays pants the next time he won and Loke lost. Strip poker or not, people still ended up stripping. Why did EVERYTHING somehow end up with stripping?

"How is this supposed to work? I can't hide my cards from him now.." I complained, but only got laughing in return, before we continued on to the next round. Not long after the stripping continued. Gray ate Lokes jacket and Erza had his tie around her head like a headband. at some point Erza ate my t-shirt and I managed to pry the vest off Natsu in order to stay decent since he was the only one to have a top piece of clothing. The shirt of Loke had long since been burned in another dare. Well, there WAS Erza, but asking her to give me something to wear.. I wouldn't do that. Too scary.

"So this is where you've been, huh?" a petite voice called out, and in through the broken window came Lisanna Strauss, followed by her sister Mirajane.

"You should've told us there was a party at your house, Lucy. Playing strip poker without me, quite bold, don't you think?" and the Strauss siblings were followed by Cana Alberone, booze in hand and a smile to share with the lot of us, and Juvia, the ever shy water mage that no doubt had seen her chance of getting closer to her beloved Gray. Gajeel was there too, all of a sudden, giving off a smirk I wasn't sure I liked as he looked at me where I sat with my partner, one of his hands loosely draped around my waist again. When did he.. oh, never mind. People settled down in the circle, and the game continued. The room was filled by laughter when someone got dared to do yet another ridiculous task, and the groan or protest of the one asked to do it. More clothing got eaten, some got asked to drink from the mystery bottles Cana had brought with her, and from then on out things REALLY went out of hand.

* * *

"I DARE you to change into the bunny outfit!" Gajeel yelled when he won over the Titania, and she all too happily agreed, bringing laughing to the table, or the floor as it was. The table had been propped up against the wall, and Erza had already promised to pay for it. More dares continued to rain. Cana was a good player, as was to be expected, and soon pretty much ran the game.

"I dare Lisanna to go and make us some drinks!" Cana declared, and Lisanna happily obliged, got up.

"Hey, it's my apartment, I can.." I tried protesting, but the arm around my waist stopped me before I could go and fetch anything and pulled me back into my spot in my partners lap.

"Nope, that's against the dare. You have to stay put until someone releases you," Cana teased, and I had to groan. When would I EVER be released then?

"You should fold." came the whisper in my ear, and I felt a shiver up my spine.

"Stop looking at my CARDS!" as I uttered the las word I smashed the back of my head against his face, and he groaned loudly.

"Serves you right, Natsu," Lisanna laughed as she entered the bedroom again, a serving plate with drinks for everyone masterly balanced in her one hand. She was the sister of Mira alright.

"Ouch, what was that for?!"

"For cheating, idiot," I replied, and we continued the round. Natsu lost. Gajeel won. Damn. The Iron Dragon Slayer looked passed me, not a single word being said. Still, the loser of the round acted as if the order was loud and clear.

"You know what this means, Scrapmetal." he mumbled silently, probably only loud enough for me and the other Dragon Slayer to hear as he pressed his lips against my neck.

"You need to beat me first, Ashface," he replied, loud enough for me and everyone else to hear. Mira squealed due to the intimate moment shared between the two of us, even though it wasn't all that explicit. Then the moment was over, and on went the game. Soon the game escalated in such a manner that people decided to head back to the guild, partly because the people involved in the dares not necessarily remained in my apartment anymore. THe dare where my partner had to kiss me on the neck had made the dares more daring after all.

* * *

"I am COMPLETELY beat..." I groaned when the last of them finally left the apartment. The party had ended somewhere around the part where I literally got tossed into the river. Kudos to Gajeel. According to the people visiting quite the party was going on at the guild too, a large celebration in advance. Tomorrow was a big day after all, according to Mira. I'd know tomorrow.

* * *

Again in front of the mirror. I had just finished showering and stood there, in my pink pajamas. Tryingly I touched my own cheek. Soft. Normal feeling. I didn't know what I expected. I'm human. *You are the Child of Fire*. I remembered the feeling of running in the dark, dogs chasing after me. The fear of getting caught. I also remembered the feeling of awe rather than fear that filled me when the flying creature roared above me. The feeling of warmth when the person was running with me through the flames. And then Vera, or at least someone that looked much like her. If this was true.. then I had met her years before that ball I had talked about to my friends. Why hadn't Vera ever mentioned this? Perhaps was everything just some mad fantasy due to the drug Vera had chosen to conceal in her vibrant red lipstick for the gods knew what reason. I sensed that the drug wasn't meant for me alone.

The room was messy, but after clearing up the dishes and the broken table things didn't really look THAT bad. Except from the fact that my bedroom window was broken, and one of my bedroom walls was badly dinted, and the main door that led outside was held up by tape. I sighed, but opened the broken frame of the window, picked up the bigger bits of glass from my bed. Then the smaller ones. Thankfully Mira had volunteered to do the dishes before she left, so that was taken care of.

"Ouch.." I muttered when I cut myself a bit on a piece of glass, thoughtfully sucked my finger as I stripped the bed entirely, Shook the sheets outside the window in order to get rid of excessive glass. It took me some time, but eventually I was done, and could snuggle into the soft, cozy...

"When did you get here?" I asked the person that had ended up next to me from seemingly nowhere, his cat already sleeping on the couch. When did the two of them enter? Didn't have a clue.

"Just now. They're still partying at the guild, but since it's late a lot of people have passed out already." he replied, had already settled like last night, one arm around my waist the other resting under my head.

"Since when was this alright?" I continued, and he chuckled.

"Since you refused to give up your bed, 'course." he replied. True. Kind of.

"And since you're mine," he continued, making me blush furiously as THAT particular event was brought back into the light. Yeah, that night when he had declared that I belonged to him.

"Do I smell different to you?" I suddenly asked. Wasn't too related, but I had been wondering. Because I WAS human, but.. the insecurities lingered.

"What do you mean, different?" he asked.

"Just answer the question." I replied, wanted him to end my insecurities.

"You smell like Lucy. Why do you ask?" he said. Well, duh. I smelled like me. Didn't really answer ANYTHING at all.

"Just curious." I replied silently.

"Tell me..." he pouted, sat up in order to look at me, and I turned to look at him.

"You smell different. Not like, different different. Well, maybe you do. You, Gajeel and Wendy." I tried explaining, and he shrugged.

"Oh. That. You still smell stuff?" he said, didn't seem uncomfortable with the notion. I guessed he was pretty used to smelling things.

"Kind of. Not sure if I got used to it or if my sense of smell is weakening. I can still smell you, though." the very thought of me getting used to this didn't work to calm me down. At least it didn't feel like I spent my whole day with my nose stuck in what seemed like EVERYTHING smelling with the intensity of smelling salt.

"I don't know..." he said after a while, his brows sort of furrowed.

"Don't know what?" I asked. Since we'd been silent for a while I wasn't quite sure what he was talking about anymore. My smelling sense or my smell. And since when was discussing smells a casual thing to do?

"I don't know if you smell different. You smell like Lucy. And me, right now. " he specified. I smelled like.. him?

"Like you?" I expressed my questioning thoughts.

"Well, you DID sit in my lap while wearing my vest for the majority of the night. That doesn't just disappear. Besides, you usually do smell like me. We always hang out." he explained, and I had to admit that he was right. We always did hang out. And I HAD spent the majority of this night in his lap. That had been embarrassing, and of course no one ever used their dare to release me. When I lost, I had to do things while remaining in my spot. Everyone seemed to just be openly accepting the fact that I belonged there.

"Why do you ask?" he continued, his eyes curious. Why DID I ask? Oh, because I wanted to know. I wanted him to tell me that I was human. Not because being partly Dragon Slayer repulsed me, but.. if that was the case, then there would be so many questions. Too many questions that remained unanswered. I still remembered Gajeel and how he had dragged me aside to ask me whether I was a Dragon Slayer shortly after I woke up dressed as a mummy. The very notion had seemed utterly ridiculous at the time. I could understand the question now when I knew what brought it up, and with the recent spin of events...

"You remember Irony?" I asked.

"Yes..." he got a guarded look in his eyes when he replied. I knew he still didn't like to talk about her, and how she died.

"She acted as if she knew me." I continued.

"Mhm." he confirmed.

"And that boy too. The boy with the shining rock. I don't think I've ever met them before, but they KNEW me. What if Gajeel is right. What if I AM a Dragon Slayer, or at least partly." I voiced my fears, but he didn't seem remotely shocked by the possibility.

"Hm? I don't know. Does it matter?" he asked.

"Of course it does. I mean.." I stopped. Didn't know how to continue. The boy shrugged, laid down again. Settled back into our previous position.

"You're still Lucy of Fairy Tail, no matter what you are." and with that, he sighed and seemingly decided to sleep. I lay in my bed, looking at the cat that slept so soundly for the first time in ages. He hadn't really been around at night lately. I wondered where he'd been.

"Natsu?" I almost whispered, fearing that he might've fallen asleep.

"Hm?" he grunted in response.

"You awake?" I asked. Stupid question.

"Hm." he merely confirmed.

"What was that between you and Gajeel earlier?" I asked. That had been.. odd. That silent stare followed by the.. the kiss on my neck. THat had felt odd too. Not too intimate, but at the same time, it felt. I didn't know. He sighed, blowing hot air on the back of my head.

"A bet." he replied, finally answering with words.

"What kind?" I asked. What kind of bet involved that kind of.. behavior? And why would NATSU of all people agree to something like that? I still suspected that even this. Even laying like this was a mere act between friends for him. It was only suspicion though. What was going on in his head was a mystery. Natsu wasn't a complete moron at ALL times. He had surprising insight to some of the oddest things. The question was whether he got the direction our relationship as partners was heading or if he merely found my bed comfy and found this a simpler way to avoid getting pushed out of it.

"I dared him to do something, and he said he would if I did something in return. Should've seen him, it was hilarious." he chuckled some, then we fell back into silence. So the idea was his, at least originally. Or it was a plant. And the kiss on the neck thing was most likely all Gajeel, since he figured Natsu wouldn't do that, mainly because the chance of me killing him for it remained high. Until tonight, when I oddly enough accepted the notion of spending the night in such a close proximity to him, almost urging him to go on. I wondered what Gajeel had to do. Did it involve Levy? I had noticed the Iron Dragon Slayer sending glances at her every now and then. Something was there. If this something would actually lead anywhere was a completely different matter, but still. I would have to ask my book-loving friend the next time we met.

* * *

They lay there, boy and girl, Celestial mage and Dragon Slayer, in a comfortable silence for a while, until the fire mage sighed.

"Just sleep, Luce..." he muttered, and she flinched slightly due to the sudden sound.

"How'd you know I didn't sleep?" she asked, though she most likely knew the answer already. He was sensitive to such things, every now in a while. She'd been awake, musing over the recent events, musing over the game of cards, the dares, the big day that would be in the morrow. With so much to think about she had some trouble sleeping.

"I could hear you. You too warm or something? I could always give you some space," he offered, though not really. He found it comfortable sleeping like this. It gave him a feeling of security, and somehow the position made her bed comfier. To his surprise she turned around at that, so she faced him. His eyes widened slightly as he saw her eyes, orange and glowing slightly in the dark before she closed them and her breath finally leveled to that of a sleeping being, her cool nose pressed against his jugular, never answering his question. It wasn't the first time her eyes had been like that. He still remembered her when she walked towards him in the woods, completely alight. Also when he entered the bathroom earlier tonight. Tonight it only lasted for a mere fraction of a second, so he wasn't sure whether it was his imagination or not. This time too. Not that it mattered. Not really. She was, as he had said earlier, still Lucy of Fairy Tail. If her eyes were brown or orange, they were still HER eyes. And she was STILL his. Hadn't denied it even once. But now it was late. Big day tomorrow. He needed the sleep in order to be fully awake then. He'd waited for this a long time, and tomorrow was the day.

* * *

"Today we announce the participants of the yearly S-class promotion exam!" came the announcement, and the room was filled with shouts of excitement. The name followed shortly thereafter. Natsu Dragneel. Gray Fullbuster. Cana Alberona. Juvia Lockser. Levy McGarden. Elfman Strauss. Mest Gryder. Freed Justine. And as thus, one week from that date, those eight mages, accompanied with one partner each, would be leaving for Tenrou Island, the holy Island where the first Master of Fairy Tail lay resting in order to try and become an S-class mage. Only one would be able to return victorious. There was nothing that suggested that anyone WOULD be.

***_Ehem... I think I just ended Forgotten. How did this happen? How on.. what? Jeez, sometimes. What do I do now? Continue with the other stories? Perhaps I should. At least no one died as of yet. But there are so many questions. WHere did all my answers go? I need to ponder on this for a while, I think. Any ideas? Anyone? If not, that is fine too. Really. I'll figure something out. Hopefully. Until then.. fare thee well._

_Best regards, Stormfoedt_***


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